Foreign Firms Successively Exit Taiwan Wind Power Market; Economic Minister: Quotas Transferred to Next Phase
Following the exit of foreign developers like EDF from Taiwan's offshore wind market due to flawed bidding mechanisms, Economic Minister Kung Ming-hsin stated that the undeveloped capacities will be transferred to Round 3-4. He remains optimistic about reaching the 2030 green energy goals through revised selection criteria focusing on financial capability.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 19:22
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 19:32 (9 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 20:51 (1h 19m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(CNA Reporter Tseng Yun-ting, Taipei, 23rd) Regarding the successive exits of foreign offshore wind developers, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin stated today that the offshore wind block development Rounds 3-1 and 3-2 lost their differentiating power due to the bidding mechanism, causing some operators to exit due to financial difficulties. However, the associated wind farms and capacities still exist, and the government will transfer some to Round 3-4 to continue promotion, maintaining confidence in the overall development.
The media focused on the recent exit of French company EDF Power Solutions from Taiwan's offshore wind market. In an interview before chairing the Ministry of Economic Affairs business meeting today, Kung Ming-hsin pointed out that to address external criticism of high feed-in tariffs, Rounds 3-1 and 3-2 adopted a competitive bidding system. However, the final bid prices were all 0 NTD, causing the pricing mechanism to lose its distinctiveness. Relying on other criteria for evaluation may not have fully reflected the developers' actual execution and financial capabilities, thereby increasing the difficulty of subsequent promotion.
Kung Ming-hsin stated that the government respects the withdrawal of some operators due to financial and other factors, but emphasized that the wind farm locations and development capacities have not disappeared. "These excellent conditions are still there." The government will simply move part of the capacity to Round 3-4 for continued processing, filled by other manufacturers, and the overall policy direction remains unchanged.
Kung Ming-hsin pointed out that the selection concept for Round 3-3 has been adjusted, returning to a focus on the developers' track records and execution capabilities, and incorporating financial capability assessments, before considering factors like ESG, to ensure that the winning bidders possess the ability to stably promote the projects.
Addressing external concerns that the lower-than-expected actual construction volume for Rounds 3-1 and 3-2 might affect the green energy supply in 2030, Kung Ming-hsin stated that the government will quickly make up the shortfall through Round 3-4. Although the schedule may be delayed by about a year, overall progress toward the 2030 goal can still be maintained.
Kung Ming-hsin mentioned that the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Economic Affairs have taken inventory of sea areas and capacities available for future development, and "it still looks quite optimistic." In addition to the current near-shore fixed-bottom wind farms, if development advances further offshore and introduces floating wind power, the overall development space is expected to expand further.
Kung Ming-hsin stated that the long-term goal is still to reach an installed capacity of 40 GW by 2050. Preliminary estimates suggest reaching about 18 to 19 GW by 2035, at which time offshore wind power will account for over 20% of total power generation.
Regarding the planning progress for Round 3-4, Kung Ming-hsin said that more than five operators have expressed high interest and paid visits, also paying attention to the selection mechanisms and details. The Energy Administration has repeatedly provided public explanations and will conduct further detailed communication in the future. On the schedule, he pointed out that if Round 3-3 can complete its selection by the end of this year, Round 3-4 will be explained to the public as soon as next year, with grid connection times initially estimated to fall between 2031 and 2032. (Editor: Lin Ke-lun) 1150423
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(CNA Reporter Tseng Yun-ting, Taipei, 23rd) Regarding the successive exits of foreign offshore wind developers, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin stated today that the offshore wind block development Rounds 3-1 and 3-2 lost their differentiating power due to the bidding mechanism, causing some operators to exit due to financial difficulties. However, the associated wind farms and capacities still exist, and the government will transfer some to Round 3-4 to continue promotion, maintaining confidence in the overall development.
The media focused on the recent exit of French company EDF Power Solutions from Taiwan's offshore wind market. In an interview before chairing the Ministry of Economic Affairs business meeting today, Kung Ming-hsin pointed out that to address external criticism of high feed-in tariffs, Rounds 3-1 and 3-2 adopted a competitive bidding system. However, the final bid prices were all 0 NTD, causing the pricing mechanism to lose its distinctiveness. Relying on other criteria for evaluation may not have fully reflected the developers' actual execution and financial capabilities, thereby increasing the difficulty of subsequent promotion.
Kung Ming-hsin stated that the government respects the withdrawal of some operators due to financial and other factors, but emphasized that the wind farm locations and development capacities have not disappeared. "These excellent conditions are still there." The government will simply move part of the capacity to Round 3-4 for continued processing, filled by other manufacturers, and the overall policy direction remains unchanged.
Kung Ming-hsin pointed out that the selection concept for Round 3-3 has been adjusted, returning to a focus on the developers' track records and execution capabilities, and incorporating financial capability assessments, before considering factors like ESG, to ensure that the winning bidders possess the ability to stably promote the projects.
Addressing external concerns that the lower-than-expected actual construction volume for Rounds 3-1 and 3-2 might affect the green energy supply in 2030, Kung Ming-hsin stated that the government will quickly make up the shortfall through Round 3-4. Although the schedule may be delayed by about a year, overall progress toward the 2030 goal can still be maintained.
Kung Ming-hsin mentioned that the Executive Yuan and the Ministry of Economic Affairs have taken inventory of sea areas and capacities available for future development, and "it still looks quite optimistic." In addition to the current near-shore fixed-bottom wind farms, if development advances further offshore and introduces floating wind power, the overall development space is expected to expand further.
Kung Ming-hsin stated that the long-term goal is still to reach an installed capacity of 40 GW by 2050. Preliminary estimates suggest reaching about 18 to 19 GW by 2035, at which time offshore wind power will account for over 20% of total power generation.
Regarding the planning progress for Round 3-4, Kung Ming-hsin said that more than five operators have expressed high interest and paid visits, also paying attention to the selection mechanisms and details. The Energy Administration has repeatedly provided public explanations and will conduct further detailed communication in the future. On the schedule, he pointed out that if Round 3-3 can complete its selection by the end of this year, Round 3-4 will be explained to the public as soon as next year, with grid connection times initially estimated to fall between 2031 and 2032. (Editor: Lin Ke-lun) 1150423
Choose to stand with facts. Every sponsorship from you is the power to guard press freedom.
Download the CNA "First Hand News" APP to grasp the latest news instantly.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and utilized without authorization.