Japan's Jera plans exit from Formosa 3 project off Taiwan - report

Japanese utility Jera Co Inc intends to offload its interest in the Formosa 3 offshore wind project in Taiwanese waters that it co-owns with Corio Generation, the Nikkei reports, pointing at concerns about growing construction costs and low profitability.

The Japanese group is keen on selling its entire 44% ownership in the scheme within several months. According to the report, it has already notified Taiwanese authorities about its decision to exit the development motivated by the rising costs for construction, coupled with geopolitical risks around the Taiwan Strait.

Formosa 3 is located off the coast of Changhua in central-west Taiwan and consists of three sites -- Haiding I, II and III. The project secured Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval in 2018, with its EIA-approved capacity amounting to 2 GW. The wind farm is planned to become operational in 2026.

Jera is a 50/50 joint venture of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings and Chubu Electric Power. The utility became a shareholder in the JYP-1-trillion (USD 7.6bn/EUR 7.1bn) Formosa 3 in 2020, taking a 43.75% stake from GIG and EnBW. Corio Generation, a portfolio company of Macquarie Group Ltd’s Green Investment Group, is the majority owner of the project.

Jera is participating in both the 128-MW Formosa 1 and 376-MW Formosa 2 projects off Taiwan.

(JPY 100 = USD 0.762/EUR 0.711)

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