French energy group Total has signed an agreement with wpd to acquire a 23% stake in Yunlin Holding, the owner of Yunlin offshore wind farm in Taiwan.
The 640 MW project, scheduled to be completed in 2022, should broaden Totals’s portfolio of offshore wind projects under development and construction, that currently represents a cumulative capacity of about 5.5 GW.
It comes with a 20-year guaranteed-price power purchase agreement (PPA) with the state-owned company Taipower of $250/MWh for the first 10 years and $125/MWh for the following 10 years.
Taiwan plans to generate 20% of its electricity from renewables by 2025, and is one of Total’s priority regions for offshore wind power in Asia.
“This agreement provides Total with an opportunity to gain a foothold in one of Asia’s main offshore wind markets and strengthens the Group’s position in this fast-growing segment, in line with its strategy of profitable development in renewables worldwide,” said Stéphane Michel, president Gas, Renewables & Power at Total.
Yunlin offshore wind project is currently 48%-owned by wpd, 25% by EGCO (Electricity Generating Public Company Limited) and 27% by a consortium of Japanese investors led by Sojitz (Sojitz Corporation, ENEOS Corporation, Chugoku Electric Power, Chudenko Corporation and Shikoku Electric Power).
Once on stream, the project will produce 2.4 TWh of renewable electricity per year, enough to serve the power needs of 605,000 households.
