As Taiwan speeds up the introduction of floating offshore wind power, concerns have been raised that Taipower's power purchase costs could climb, United Daily News reported on Sept. 12.

Floating offshore wind mounts turbines on buoyant platforms held by mooring lines rather than fixing structures to the seabed. It suits waters too deep for fixed foundations.

Shallower stretches of the Taiwan Strait hosted fixed-bottom farms first, and the remaining promising areas lie in deeper water, which has kept discussion of floating projects alive.

Floating designs, however, cost more for moorings, subsea cables and the vessels needed for maintenance. Generation costs at this stage are generally higher than for fixed-bottom projects.

Power purchase agreements are often signed at fixed rates for long periods. If contract rates are set high, the burden persists for years, which is the background to the concern.

Industry counters that securing early volume is what brings equipment supply chains and port facilities into place, citing the learning effect by which unit costs fall as scale grows.

The crux is how the pace of deployment is matched with contract terms. Auction design and ceilings on unit prices are likely to sit at the center of the coming debate.