Taiwan Today

Taiwan Power Co. plans to set up wind turbines off the coast of Changhua County, according to Edward K.M. Chen, chairman of the state-owned electric utility. Wind and solar power are the most feasible forms of renewable energy for Taiwan, considering their viability and profitability, Chen said Feb. 5, adding that company has invested NT$20.7 billion (US$645 million) in developing wind power projects. Taiwan Power has completed its first phase of wind power projects, with the second and the third phases in progress. A total of 162 wind power generators are expected to be ready for use by the end of 2011, capable of generating 289 million watts of power. The company is now planning the fourth phase and the offshore wind power site off Changhua. Plans for offshore plants are progressing with caution, Chen said, because Japan has seen its offshore turbines destroyed by typhoons in the past. Smaller-scale wind power generators will test the waters before the firm invests more capital in large-scale offshore wind turbines, he added. Taiwan Power is also developing solar power, which currently costs as much as NT$12 per kilowatt-hour to generate, Chen said. Other companies are also investing in solar energy research and development, he noted, thus generation costs are expected to be halved in five to 10 years, making solar energy a competitor of fossil fuel energy. The compny has invested NT$2 billion in the first phase of its solar power projects, in the hopes of generating ten million watts by the end of 2011. The solar energy project on the Yongan salt flats in Kaohsiung County, the largest in Taiwan, is expected to generate 4,636 kilowatts upon its completion late next year. (KL-THN)