Mitsui & Co. and Northland Power Inc. will invest in a 960 billion yen ($6.5 billion) offshore wind project off Taiwan’s east coast that will generate enough electricity for 1 million households.
(Bloomberg) — Mitsui & Co. and Northland Power Inc. will invest in a 960 billion yen ($6.5 billion) offshore wind project off Taiwan’s east coast that will generate enough electricity for 1 million households.
Some 73 large turbines will be installed about 45 to 70 kilometers (28 to 43 miles) off the coast, with power being produced from the end of 2025 and the project being completed a year later, the Japanese company said in a statement released Friday. Mitsui will have a 40% shareholding in the development that will have capacity of 1,022 megawatts.
The rest of the Hai Long Offshore Wind Power Project will be owned by Northland, a Canadian company, Mitsui said. Agreements have been signed to sell the green electricity to Taiwan Power Co.
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The investment decision comes as soaring costs derail offshore wind projects around the globe, even as demand for renewable energy soars. Mitsui, one of the biggest Japanese trading houses, is trying to move away from fossil fuels, while Taiwan is targeting 5.6 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2025, up from just 237 megawatts in 2021.
Mitsui plans to invest 260 billion yen in the project, while 540 billion yen will be raised via financing, it said. The company’s shares fell 1.9% as of 2:21 p.m. in Tokyo, outpacing an 0.5% drop in the Nikkei index.
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