Ming Rong Yuan New Energy Co (Ming Rong Yuan NE, 銘榮元新能源) has pledged NT$3 billion (US$108.3 million) to build a research, production and storage base for underwater jacket foundations and renewable energy facilities at the Port of Kaohsiung after the InvesTaiwan Service Center approved its application to participate in the government’s incentive programs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Saturday.

The company, a subsidiary of pressure equipment maker Ming Rong Yuan Business Co Ltd (銘榮元實業), was established in June last year to focus on the production of jacket foundations for offshore wind farms.

Ming Rong Yuan NE in October last year completed the construction of a factory in Pingtung County’s Sinyuan Township (新園) to produce tubular steel for jacket foundations and expects to begin full operation in the second quarter of this year, its Web site says.

Photo courtesy of Ming Rong Yuan New Energy Co

The company has formed a technological partnership with Smulders Projects Belgium NV, and seeks to develop its manufacturing capacity and technical base as it looks at offshore wind business opportunities in Taiwan and elsewhere in Asia, the ministry said in a statement.

The investment comes as President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration promotes offshore wind farms as part of its plans to expand renewable energy generation while phasing out nuclear power in Taiwan by 2025.

The government plans to have 20 percent of the nation’s electricity generated from renewable energy sources by 2025, including 5.7 gigawatts (GW) from offshore wind power. It also plans to source an additional 15GW from offshore wind farms from 2026 to 2035, the Bureau of Energy has said.

“At this critical moment of the nation’s energy transition, Ming Rong Yuan NE aims to meet the needs of domestic green energy markets, as well as prepare for overseas markets in the medium and long term,” the ministry said.

Six other companies were also approved by the InvesTaiwan Service Center on Saturday to create or expand their manufacturing facilities in Taiwan. The six firms are Kingsway Biotechnology Co (金威生物科技), Golden Grande Corp (格安德工業), Charng Chyi Aluminum Co (常琪鋁業), Maxclaw Tools Co (詠基工業), Feng Ling Enterprise Co (豐麟企業) and Li Ying Environmental Technology Co (立盈環保科技), the ministry said. Overall, the seven companies are to invest a combined NT$4.7 billion, it added.

Golden Grande, a maker of personal protective equipment — such as masks, protective eyewear, earmuffs and industrial helmets — plans to invest NT$400 million to install smart production lines and advanced manufacturing equipment at its facilities in Tainan’s Syuejia District (學甲), the ministry said.

Maxclaw Tools, whose products include tube cutting tools, flaring tools, pipe bending tools, wrenches and C-clamps, has reached markets in North America, Australia, Europe and Japan.

A supplier of global automobile, sanitarywares and air-conditioning brands, Maxclaw plans to invest NT$300 million to build office buildings and factories with advanced machines and automatic storage equipment in Taichung’s Taiping District (太平), the ministry said.

Li Ying’s business focuses on turning waste calcium fluoride sludge generated by the semiconductor industry into synthetic fluorite, which can be used in steelmaking.

The company plans to invest NT$200 million in a new plant in the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區) in Taichung to contribute to a circular economy and reduce domestic reliance on overseas fluorite, the ministry said.

The Invest in Taiwan initiative has to date attracted 1,170 companies to invest more than NT$1.65 trillion in Taiwan, creating 130,110 local jobs. Six applications to join the initiative are pending, the ministry added.

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