Despite All the Challenges In the Past 20 Years, wpd Achieve Key Milestone For Onshore Wind

On May 24th of this year, wpd announced the completion of its 200th onshore wind turbine installation in Taiwan, marking a significant milestone. wpd has established a strong presence in Taiwan for impressive 20 years. It's been a challenging path, marked by overcoming various communication hurdles to reach this accomplishment. Looking ahead to Taiwan's 2050 net-zero vision, Wei-Wei Tseng, Chairperson of wpd Taiwan Energy, firmly believes that onshore wind power, with its reliability and adaptability, will continue to play a vital role in supporting this ambitious goal.

As of the end of October, wpd has already installed 206 onshore wind turbines with total capacity of more than 500MW, accounting for more than half of Taiwan's onshore wind market. The electricity production of 1.2 billion kWh per year can supply for more than 290,000 households, exceeding what the utility company Taipower can generate from its onshore wind business.

When it comes to why wpd had the foresight to invest in Taiwan's wind energy sector at such early stage, Tseng explained that the Taiwan Strait acts as a funnel, amplifying the wind once it enters, and the combination of the strait effect and the northeast monsoon results in excellent wind conditions in the central and northern regions of Taiwan. Therefore, back in the early days, Miaoli and Taoyuan are the focus of siting.

Facing opposition, communication with patience is essential

The first wind power project was not realized until 2006 after entering Taiwan for several years, and it illustrates the difficulties encountered on this path. At that time, local communities were unfamiliar with wind energy, and there was continuous skepticism and opposition from the public. Particularly in 2012, there was a significant protest against wind power in Yuanli, Miaoli. This protest often made headlines, and it becomes obvious that no development project can avoid public resistance.

Throughout the 20-year journey, Tseng summarized that two aspects are particularly difficult: one is "integration of land requirements," and the other is "public communication".

Onshore wind development was initially started from the central-northern part of Taiwan, often involving lands managed by the Forestry Bureau or the National Property Administration. These government-owned lands were relatively easy to acquire. However, as the development expanded southward, private land ownership issues emerged as a significant challenge. Even government-owned lands under the jurisdiction of the National Property Administration or River Management Bureau had leaseholders or occupants, making the integration process much more complex.

Tseng said reluctantly, the public agencies typically leave it to the developers to figure out. She said, "The problem is, there may be 5 to 10, or even more land owners on the lands needed for one onshore wind turbine. We can't make it even with only one disagreement, so the pressure is immense!”

In onshore wind power development, the most common opposition often revolves around concerns related to wind turbine noise, the passage of power transmission cables and ecological considerations on bird that environmental groups are concerned about. Tseng explained, “it's simply due to a lack of public understanding, leading to worries and fears. In reality, many of these issues are quite solvable.”

As an example, wind turbine blades with a more curved design can effectively reduce noise. On the household level, noise issues can be addressed by improving soundproofing in windows.

The major difference of development in Taiwan and Europe is that many development projects in Taiwan often navigate through all the required procedures and receive approvals, but then encounter unexpected roadblocks. Approved projects can come to a halt due to opposition, and this is the difficulty of developing wind energy in Taiwan. She mentioned that in countries like Germany, there is an initial consultation process that involves discussion with stakeholders. While this phase may take more time, once the supervisory authority gives its approval, further objections cannot be raised, providing a level of certainty for the businesses. "But in Taiwan, public opinion can be expressed anywhere, anytime…” Tseng honestly said.

“Morning and evening greetings,” patiently building trust

Facing Taiwan's unique local culture, wpd had to adapt and gradually developed a set of communication skills. Weiwei Tseng smiled and said that the first strategy is "morning and evening greetings.” “All-time reachable” is the key to the local community, no matter it's for a meal, a drink, or a business discussion. What even better is to show up within ten minutes or half an hour.

Furthermore, compensation for landowners or users is definitely a key, and value addition can be created by offering them further improvements such as road repair or water pipe relocation, as friendly neighboring measures.

People in Taiwan are endearing. At first, there might be opponents, but over time when mutual trust develops, opponents sometimes become friends and even the advocates to persuade others who are against the project. In some cases, they also generously offer their own lands, hoping for more wind turbines to be installed.

Tseng summarized the key as "puânn-nuá" (Taiwanese Hokkien; meaning interaction and companionship). Especially in local communities, commitments are highly valued. A casually spoken sentence carries significant weight, and unlike in Taipei, where saying, "Let's have a meal next time," often doesn't lead to an actual meeting, in local communities, this is definitely not the case.

Future development strategy - small yet beautiful approach

With Taiwan's vision of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, what role will wpd play in the next two decades? Tseng firmly believes that onshore wind power is an energy source that can be steadily developed in the long run.

Regarding the lifespan of onshore wind turbines, she mentioned that the first priority would be extending the service life for 5 to 10 years if the mechanical equipment is still functional. Additionally, repowering can be considered to use larger turbines that offer better energy production efficiency, so the operation can keep going.

In terms of installing new wind turbines, Tseng highlighted that wpd's future strategy for onshore wind power will revolve around local development, emphasizing the "small yet beautiful" approach. Whether it's adding three or five turbines at a time, the company is flexible. wpd is currently assessing potential locations along Taiwan's central coastline, at ports, and in the hilly areas of the northern region, all of which offer opportunities for expansion.

Net-zero carbon emission should be achieved through a variety of green energy approaches

However, while wind power development is originally started from onshore, in recent years, it has become less of focus. The Taiwanese government has been strongly promoting offshore wind power, leading to a noticeable shift in green energy policy resources towards offshore wind. Onshore wind power has been feeling somewhat neglected.

Tseng also feels deeply about this, but she pointed out that achieving net-zero carbon footprint worldwide requires multiple approaches working together. Especially in a densely populated and resource-limited place like Taiwan, "The types of renewable energy should be diversified. I think Taiwan cannot afford to bet on only one or two types.”

During the development of offshore wind power, numerous factors at seas may lead to uncertainty of construction timeline. Tseng believes that amid this situation, it's essential to have other forms of green energies promoted simultaneously, and onshore wind power is a suitable option for steady operation. It has the advantage of being decentralized, and its point-like development allows for greater flexibility compared to offshore wind power.

In regard to the 2050 net-zero timetable, she cautions that it's not too far off, as many endeavors require over a decade to come to fruition. This isn't exclusive to onshore wind power; it applies to all energy policies. If ones don't begin to address these matters now, it will be challenging in implementation when the time comes.

Despite the maturity of onshore wind power technology, it often lacks official attention. Nevertheless, given its crucial importance in terms of stability and flexibility, Weiwei Tseng hopes that the government can still help to speak out on individual cases and communicate with the local community. By coordinating various agencies and allocating some resources, the government can ensure the thriving development of all types of energy sources, no matter it’s offshore or onshore wind in Taiwan.