Why is Taiwan building a power plant?

The plant is engineered to provide additional flexibility to Taiwan’s power generation fleet, supporting the country’s coal-to-gas transition along with enabling increased use of renewable energy (primarily from offshore wind farms), as Taiwan works toward a goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions from power generation by 2050.

How can Taiwan move towards cleaner energy?

Officials over the past decade have realized the need to move Taiwan toward cleaner energy, including transitioning from primarily coal-fired generation (about 43% of the energy mix in 2023, according to Taiwanese government data) to more gas-fired power output (about 40% last year), and increasing the use of renewable energy resources.

Could a combination of solar and wind meet Taiwan's electricity needs?

In its press release, the state-run utility touted the fact that a combination of solar and wind could briefly meet more than half of Taiwan’s electricity needs as proof that it’s made rapid progress. It was the first time that wind and solar together exceeded all other forms of power generation.

Will Taiwan expand its hydroelectric capacity?

There’s no realistic prospect of Taiwan significantly expanding its hydroelectric capacity. In those few places where the topography lends itself to the building of new hydropower plants, such as Meinong (美濃) in Kaohsiung, there’s strong local opposition. Since 2018, Japan has doubled the capacity of its biomass power stations.

What percentage of Taiwan's electricity is generated by renewables?

Including hydropower and waste-to-energy plants, as well as tiny amounts contributed by geothermal and biomass facilities, renewables produced just under 11 percent of the electricity consumed in Taiwan. That’s an improvement compared to 2022 (9.8 percent), which itself was better than the 2018 figure (6.3 percent).

What is a non-renewable power station?

Non-renewable power stations are those that run on coal, fuel oils, nuclear power, and natural gas, while renewable power stations run on fuel sources such as biomass, geothermal heat, moving water, solar rays, tides, waves and the wind. By the end of 2011, Taiwan had installed 41,401 MW of generating capacity across all types of power station.