【2025/04/16】The Wei Lan Hai Changhua Offshore Wind Project (hereinafter referred to as the “Wei Lan Hai Changhua Project”) has established a “Local Revitalization Partnership” with the Wanggong Oyster Shell Art in Fangyuan Township to strengthen relationship with the coastal communities in Changhua County, support environmental restoration, promote environmental education, and assist in the transformation of local industries. The two parties held the partnership launching ceremony on April 15 at the famous Wanggong Fishing Harbor plaza in Changhua, and officially kicked-off the cooperation under the witness of nearly 200 people, including Fangyuan Township Office, community representatives and residents, National Taiwan Ocean University, National Changhua University of Education, Caohu Junior High School, Fangyuan Elementary School, Wanggong Elementary School, Hanbao Elementary School and Lukang Elementary School. Also to celebrate “4/22 World Earth Day”, the organizers arranged for all participants to go to the Wanggong intertidal zone for beach cleaning and building oyster reefs, taking concrete actions to protect the sustainable development of Changhua’s ecology.
Changhua County’s Fangyuan Township has a century-old oyster farming culture, which is an important local economic industry. But in recent years, the community has also faced challenges such as an aging population and youth migration. The Wei Lan Hai Changhua Project, together with the Wanggong Oyster Shell Art, hopes to inject new momentum into the industrial transformation of Fangyuan Township by promoting local cultural creation and environmental sustainability. The partnership project will give priority to eight thematic activities, including local consensus meetings, environmental education promotion, environment restoration, ocean initiatives, empowerment, youths and seniors art cocreation, cultural inheritance and community rebuild, and brand creation and sustainable development.
To broadcast the partnership, a large banner is installed on the exterior wall of the “Wanggong Story House” next to the Wanggong Fishing Harbor Visitor Center, so that residents and tourists can learn more about the Wei Lan Hai Changhua Project and Fangyuan local cocreation, working together towards common prosperity and common good.
Thomas Hidden, Project Director of Wei Lan Hai Changhua Offshore Wind Project, said: “We are honored to be a long-term partner with the Wonggong Oyster Shell Art, an outstanding local organization that has consecutively won the Ministry of Education’s ‘Marine Education Contribution Award’, and the Ministry of Environment’s ‘National Environmental Education Award’. Promoting mutual prosperity and creating sustainable values for local communities have always been our commitment to responsible project development.”
Feng-Rong Liang, Chairperson of Wanggong Oyster Shell Art said, “Wanggong relies on the sea for sustenance, and the oyster culture is our proudest heritage. In recent years, facing pressures of climate change and environmental transformations, we greatly need new forces to join us. We are pleased to establish a partnership with the Wei Lan Hai Changhua Offshore Wind Project for local revitalization. In the future, we will work with the local community to promote environmental education, marine restoration, wind energy education, and artistic creation, co-creating new paths for transformation.”
The theme of 2025 World Earth Day is “Our Power, Our Planet,” which resonates with the promotion of renewable energy. The Wei Lan Hai Changhua Project and the Wanggong Oyster Shell Art organized the “Our Power, Our Planet – Protecting the Ocean” beach cleaning and oyster reef building event to raise public awareness about our environment and marine resource conservation. This event marks the first environmental conservation activity after the official launch of the bilateral local revitalization partnership, bringing together industry, government, academic, and local residents to protect the Earth through concrete actions, enhancing community cohesion, and injecting new vitality into traditional industries. The event concluded with building 12 oyster reefs and collected 672kg of marine waste.
About the Wei Lan Hai Changhua Offshore Wind Power Program
Hold by EDF Renewables (80.1%) and Taiya Renewable (19.9%), Wei Lan Hai Changhua (440MW) is located off the coast of Changhua County and has a surface area of approximately 53 square-kilometers, and the sea depth is between 15 and 45 meters with fixed-bottom foundations and is designed to generate 1.6 billion kWh/year, equivalent to a year’s electricity consumption of 460,000 households.