News from Ireland, Taiwan, Türkiye, Sweden
Among our top news this week were updates on allocations in Sweden and Taiwan and (potential) upcoming capacity awards for offshore wind farms in Ireland and Türkiye. Read more about these in our recap ??
The Swedish government has rejected 13 applications to build offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea due to defence concerns while approving one project on the west coast, being developed by a joint venture between Vattenfall and Zephyr.
On 4 November, the Swedish government announced that 13 submitted applications to build offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea, south of the Sea of ?land, were rejected, with a potential capacity of almost 32 GW.
“Based on the Armed Forces’ documentation, the government makes the assessment that it would lead to unacceptable consequences for Sweden’s military defense to build the projects in question. In the serious security policy situation Sweden now finds itself in, with war in our immediate area, the defense interest must weigh heavily when judgments like this are made”, said P?l Jonson, Sweden’s Minister of Defence.
The European Union and Taiwan have reached an understanding on a dispute at the World Trade Organization (WTO) that was initiated by the EU over Taiwan’s offshore wind auctions, more specifically, the requirements for domestic content.
In July this year, the EU requested consultations at the WTO concerning Taiwan’s use of local content criteria for offshore wind projects, which formally initiated a dispute at the WTO.
Taiwan has now committed to introducing greater flexibility in the way the winning projects from the latest auction are taken forward, which will effectively address past implementation difficulties faced by offshore wind developers, including those from Europe, the EU Directorate-General for Trade said in a press release on 8 November.
Taiwan has also committed to no longer include localisation requirements in allocation rounds, either as eligibility conditions or as award criteria.
The Irish government has approved the terms and conditions of Ireland’s second offshore wind auction under the Offshore Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (ORESS). The qualification phase for the auction is expected to open in the first quarter of 2025, with the bidding phase planned for the second quarter of next year.
The site the government will offer, named Tonn Nua (New Wave), is located off the coast of County Waterford, spans 306 square kilometres and can house 900 MW of installed offshore wind capacity.
While this will be Ireland’s second offshore wind auction, it will be the first to be held within the country’s first spatial plan for offshore renewable energy (ORE) development, the South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan (SC DMAP) which was approved by the Oireachtas on 10 October.
The World Bank Group, in collaboration with the Republic of Türkiye’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, has launched an offshore wind roadmap for the country that outlines the potential for up to 7 GW of capacity to be installed by 2040.
The Government of Türkiye has set a target of 5 GW installed capacity for offshore wind power by 2035. According to the World Bank, the country’s waters have areas with a total technical potential offshore wind resource estimated at 75 GW.
Favorable offshore wind resources are located near high-demand power centres, offering a large-scale, domestic power generation source. Most areas with good resources are said to be suited for floating foundation solutions, given water depths that exceed 50 metres.
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