Asia Cement Corp (亞泥) yesterday announced that the company is partnering with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) to develop an offshore wind farm that could be in operation before the end of 2020.

The NT$60 billion (US$2.05 billion) Hsinchu Offshore Wind Power Project (竹風離岸風電計畫) is one of only a few locally led wind energy projects and is to have a generating capacity of about 450 megawatts (MW), Asia Cement president Lee Kun-yen (李坤炎) said at a news conference in Taipei.

Asia Cement would cover NT$20 billion to NT$30 billion of the development costs, in line with the 20 to 30 percent self-financing ratio of most wind projects, Lee said.

The local company is to hold a majority stake of more than 60 percent in the wind farm, Lee said, adding that CIP has not yet specified the size of the stake it would take in the project.

Based on state-run Taiwan Power Co’s (台電) plans to purchase green energy at NT$5.8 per kilowatt-hour, Asia Cement expects the project to generate an annual internal rate of return of 8 to 10 percent, Lee said.

With its experience and expertise in development, CIP would also help with the technology transfers that are necessary for Taiwanese businesses to set up a domestic wind energy industry, Lee said.

Asia Cement, which is a part of the Far Eastern Group (遠東集團), would seek synergies with other affiliates of the conglomerate, Lee said.

For instance, it could make use of U-Ming Marine Transport Corp’s (裕民航運) fleet services, Far EasTone Telecommunications Co’s (遠傳電信) expertise in wind turbine data collection and monitoring and Chiahui Power Corp’s (嘉惠電力) experience in operating as an independent power producer, Lee said.