Technological iteration is supposed to symbolize progress. Yet N-type (Tunnel Oxide Oxide Passivated Contact) TOPCon technology, which has been in commercial deployment for only about three years, is now in survival mode. Supply chain players on both sides of the Taiwan Strait point out that this crisis is no longer a simple imbalance of supply and demand figures, but rather a zeroing effect because of policy shifts, surging raw material costs, and intense technological infighting.
Chicony Power, a Taiwanese power and energy management company, is accelerating a strategic shift away from its traditional reliance on PC and notebook power supplies, expanding into communications power systems, AI server power solutions, and intelligent low-carbon integration platforms as it seeks to build a more resilient business amid market volatility.
China controls about 90% of global rare earth mining, turning the sector into a strategic lever against tariffs imposed by the US and port fees targeting Chinese vessels. Kung Ming-hsin, Minister of Economic Affairs of Taiwan, said recycling, refining, and electronic waste processing could meet up to 50% of domestic rare earth demand. The US values such "urban mining" capabilities and hopes Taiwan can export the technology to other countries, while also seeking new rare earth sources in partnership with Taiwan.
Supply chain sources said teams linked to Tesla and SpaceX recently made low-profile visits to multiple Chinese solar firms, reviewing equipment, silicon wafers, cells, and modules, with a focus on next-generation technologies including heterojunction technology (HJT) and high-efficiency perovskite cells.
After years of disruption, Taiwan's offshore wind sector is approaching a decisive inflection point in 2026. Development momentum was previously slowed by labor shortages during the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, surging construction costs, and an EU complaint to the WTO over Taiwan's localization policies, which temporarily stalled project approvals. With these headwinds gradually easing, the government is now preparing to restart large-scale expansion.
Since taking office, Trump has suspended clean energy subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, creating diverging US green energy policies. Subsidies were reduced for wind and solar power, residential clean energy equipment, and electric vehicles, while the impact on industries such as nuclear power, geothermal energy, carbon capture, and energy storage was relatively positive, with original tax credits retained. Hydrogen projects can still proceed as long as construction begins before 2028.
The Fengmiao Offshore Wind Farm, led by the fifth flagship fund of Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), will officially enter its first year of offshore construction in 2026, to complete full grid connection by the end of 2027. CEO Mark Wainwright stated that following the completion of project financing in March 2025, overall construction has continued to progress. All pin piles have now been manufactured. A total of 33 jacket foundations are being managed under a turnkey contract by Century Iron and Steel, with 20 fabricated in-house by Century and the remaining 13 produced by a Korean manufacturer. The overall configuration complies with the localization requirements of the third quarter, first phase offshore wind projects.
The draft rules for vendor selection in offshore wind power Phase 3-3 have, for the first time, removed localization requirements. However, this has not slowed investment in Taiwan by companies including Century Iron & Steel. Because localization requirements impact domestic suppliers that have already made substantial investments, Century Group calls for a gradual policy adjustment. As the Asia-Pacific offshore wind market continues to grow, Century Group is also accelerating the build-out of production capacity in Indonesia, with plans to explore export opportunities in Japan and South Korea.
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), through its fifth flagship fund Copenhagen Infrastructure V (CI V), held a milestone event on January 29, 2026, at Taipei Port to showcase the completion of the first batch of subsea foundation assemblies for the Fengmiao Offshore Wind Farm. The project is on track for full completion in 2027.
Taiwan is stepping up efforts to anchor global investment at home, offering equal incentives to US and foreign firms even as cross-border commitments under the Taiwan–US Investment Cooperation MOU remain asymmetric.
Artificial intelligence (AI) waves and global electrification trends are causing electricity demand to soar faster than energy infrastructure can keep up. Facing core challenges in national energy strategies, achieving high-efficiency power dispatch with existing resources has become key to strengthening the resilience of modern electricity systems.
More coverage