TAIPEI, May 11 Reuters In the port city of Taichung on Taiwan39;s west coast, a crane hoists into place the end section of a white wind turbine tower that stands almost a hundred metres tall.

The turbine will be one of 111 spinning at a multibillion dollar offshore wind project located up to 60 kilometres into the Taiwan Strait, which is being built by Denmark39;s Orsted and will supply enough electricity for a million homes.

The wind farms are part of Taiwan39;s ambitious push to power its massive tech industry with renewable energy and sit in a waterway that has become a focal point of tensions between Beijing and Washington.

For now, the economic arguments for developments like Orsted39;s trump concerns about placing critical energy assets in what some security analysts believe could one day become a theatre of war.

It39;s a huge demand, less supply situation, Christy Wang, general manager of Orsted Taiwan, said. Orsted monitors crossstrait ties closely, but has not changed its strategy for Taiwan, Wang said, adding that the lifetime of a wind farm is decades.

Obviously, the project is here for the long term, she said.

The project is the largest outside of Europe for Orsted, the world39;s biggest offshore wind firm, and its second in Taiwan since entering in 2016, drawn by the fast and consistent winds, government support for renewables and clear regulation.

Since then, the global geopolitical mood has changed significantly with Russia39;s invasion of Ukraine…