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TSMC taps wind power as AI chip demand soars, Taiwan feels energy crunch
TSMC's massive investments in renewable energy—including a 1+ gigawatt wind power deal and commitments to 60% renewable energy by 2030—underscore the critical infrastructure challenge facing technology leaders as AI chip demand surges; TSMC's energy consumption is projected to grow from 10% to nearly 25% of Taiwan's electricity usage by 2030, creating supply chain risks tied to geopolitical energy instability in the Taiwan Strait. For CIOs and IT leaders, this signals that energy availability and sustainability will increasingly constrain semiconductor supply chains, requiring strategic planning around compute capacity allocation, data center location decisions, and long-term sourcing agreements with hardware vendors.
Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC is raking in record profits during the AI boom—but it is also racing to help Taiwan develop wind power and other energy alternatives to fossil fuels amid a global energy crisis. The chipmaker has signed a 30-year corporate power purchase agreement for 100 percent of the power produced by the Hai Long offshore wind project. The deal between TSMC and Northland Power, a Canada-based global power producer, covers more than 1 gigawatt of power capacity at three offshore wind sites located off the western coast of central Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait, according to an April 30 announcement. Once completed, the Hai Long offshore wind project would have the capacity to power the equivalent of more than 1 million Taiwanese households. The project’s wind farms began supplying power to Taiwan’s grid in 2025 and are scheduled to become fully operational by 2027.Read full article Comments