Wind blowing hot in Asia as the offshore market accelerates

The potential for offshore wind in Asia is well known, with countries such as Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, Japan and of course China, having vast potential. But until recently (and except for China) this potential has been slow in realisation. That could be about to change with some significant developments in the Asian offshore wind sector.

DNV, the Norwegian-based, international advisory and classification behemoth, has recently published two significant papers aimed primarily at the Pacific market. The first, a recommended practice (RP), looks at optimising design and minimising costs and risks associated with wind power in seismically unstable regions. The DNV-RP-0585 “Seismic design of wind power plants” is the culmination of a multi-year Joint Industry Project (JIP) bringing together experts, operators, academia and engineers to analyse the problems for wind power in extreme weather events or seismically vulnerable areas.

The second significant DNV publication is a technical note entitled “Site extreme wind speeds due to tropical cyclones for wind power plants”. Another result of the JIP, the technical note hopes to level the playing field in design principles for wind farms in extreme environments. DNV hopes, “… after an extensive industry collaboration to increase transparency and to reduce uncertainty in the design of wind farms in emerging offshore wind markets such as Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and the US.”

In other Asian offshore wind market news, Japan has taken a big step earlier this year with the first offshore installation work for their Akita Noshiro wind farm. The Akita Offshore Wind Corporation, a consortium led by Marubeni and including several Japanese utility companies, hopes to bring the farm online in 2022. The 139 MW farm is Japan’s first commercial, large-scale farm. When completed, 33 Vestas 4.2 MW turbines will send electricity onshore via a substation in Akita Prefecture.

Elsewhere in Asia, Ørsted, the Danish offshore wind giant, has signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) with the Vietnamese conglomerate T&T. The MoU will see Ørsted and T&T cooperating on offshore wind development along the Vietnamese coast. The combined power of these two giants, Ørsted with its extensive wind knowledge and T&T with its extensive market presence, will create a Vietnamese offshore wind development pipeline consisting of GWs of potential parks. Ørsted has long believed Vietnam has excellent offshore wind potential, and this is the latest in several moves towards that market. The Vietnamese government has expressed an interest of up to 15 GW of offshore wind by 2030.

Recent movement in the Taiwanese market has brokers expecting further development. The Taiwanese energy company, Global Power Synergy recently bought a 25% stake in the Changfang and Xidao offshore wind farm located off the coast of Changhua county, Taiwan. Scheduled for completion in 2024, the farm will be the biggest of its kind in Taiwan. The 25% stake represents USD 500 million and was purchased from the Danish fund managers Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). Christopher Kelly, from the law firm White and Case, who dealt with the transaction on behalf of CIP, said, “This transaction is a strong statement on the attractiveness of the Asian renewable energy market.”