Offshore wind energy is one of the key renewable energy industries of Taiwan. With the support of the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, MIRDC held the International Forum on Offshore Wind Talent Training and Underwater Technology Trends on October 14, 2020, inviting 13 companies, including Boskalis HwaChi, CIP, DNV GL, Swancor, Ørsted, ORE Catapult, and RWE Renewables, to share their knowledge on the two themes of talent training and underwater technology, hoping to learn from international experiences and trends to drive Taiwan's companies to carry out industrial innovation and forward-looking deployment.
Dr. Cheng-wei Yu, Director-General of the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, said that offshore wind energy is currently a key industry that Taiwan is proactively developing. The first phase of demonstration incentive measures and the second phase of potential sites have already achieved preliminary results. Currently, the Bureau of Energy is continuing to create the policy of the third phase, zonal development. In line with the 10-year policy goal of 10 GW, it is estimated that between 2026 and 2030, 1 GW of capacity will be installed every year, demonstrating Taiwan's determination to develop green energy.
Dr. Chiu-feng Lin, the president of MIRDC, indicated that the establishment of the Marine Technology Industrial Innovation Zone at Xingda Fishing Port in Kaohsiung is expected to be completed by the end of this year, with the main goal of training local marine technology talent and enhancing the domestic marine technology capability. By linking with international benchmarks such as Maersk Training, DNV GL, and MARIN, MIRDC will build a world-class R&D field and talent training capability, and plan a diversified space for companies to use. In the future, the zone will serve as an important platform for marine technology development to support the development of Taiwan's emerging marine industries and value-added local businesses.
During the forum, Chong Ng, Head of Applied Research of ORE Catapult, shared the trend of global offshore wind innovations and presented emerging technologies that will be used in wind farms in the future. Andreas Munk-Janson, Head of Operations of Asia-Pacific of Ørsted, described offshore wind operations and maintenance scenarios, hoping that the training of Taiwan's offshore wind talent can meet the requirements of the industry. Elvin Sng, Country Manager of Boskalis Taiwan, explained the key technologies for the operations and maintenance of undersea cables. Rasmus Wandrup, Chief Technology Officer of Swancor Renewable Energy, and Yu-Foong Chong, Head of Business Development of RWE Taiwan, provided technical guidance and strategic advice on the future of floating wind turbines. It is hoped that through this international exchange, global trends and perspectives will be gathered, and resources from various sectors will be shared and integrated through Zone, creating opportunities for cooperation to together inject new momentum into Taiwan's offshore wind energy industry.