Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a Canadian pension fund is investing $1-billion in a Taiwanese offshore wind project in its latest of a string of renewable-energy acquisitions. The Qubéc-based fund will acquire a 50 per cent stake in the Greater Changhua 1 Offshore Wind Farm developed by Ørsted. The acquired project has a total installed capacity of 605 MW and is valued at $3.4 billion. The project is set to be completed in 2022 and can potentially provide electricity to 650,000 homes in Taiwan. The Caisse will acquire its stake in Greater Changhua 1 through financing packages supported by 15 banks and two local life-insurance companies from Taiwan and the rest of the world.
The Greater Changhua 1 projects will be developed in two phases, the first of which comprises of projects with a cumulative capacity of 900 MW consisting of 112 turbines located 35-60 km off the coast of Changhua County in Taiwan. Further, 920 MW of capacity will be added in two more phases beginning in 2025, subject to grid availability and investment decisions.
Of the $333 billion the Caisse has under management, infrastructure holdings account for $28 billion. The pension fund also has a 17.3 per cent stake in Quebec-based wind and solar developer Boralex Inc. Other major institutional investors are gradually increasing their renewable energy holdings. In December 2020, the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board launched a new company to boost its European investments in solar, onshore wind, and battery storage.
