Taiwan Today

Taiwan is accelerating construction projects aimed at promoting renewable energy generation.

A ceremony was held last November in southern Taiwan’s Tainan City to mark the start of an ambitious project intended to boost economic growth and protect the environment. The Shalun Green Energy Science City (SGESC), named after the pastoral setting in which it is being built, will be a base for the development of renewable energy technologies. Advances developed there are expected to prove crucial in achieving one of the country’s major goals, namely the complete phasing out of nuclear energy—currently supplying some 15 percent of Taiwan’s electricity—by 2025. At the same time, the government is working to increase the ratio of power generated via renewable resources from today’s roughly 4 percent to 20 percent.

This target is bold yet attainable, according to Huang Der-ray (黃得瑞), head of the SGESC’s preparatory office. Earlier this year, the science city project and other renewable energy plans were officially placed under the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program (FIDP), a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing Taiwan’s key infrastructure needs over the next 30 years. Around NT$8 billion (US$266 million) has been allocated to the green energy infrastructure initiative’s first phase, which runs until the end of 2018.

Huang said the green energy sector has immense potential for quickly bringing in significant results. He added these would not only benefit the environment, but also address a national security issue, as Taiwan imports the vast majority of its energy resources. “Greater energy self-sufficiency must be promoted by establishing industrial competence in such areas as solar and wind power,” Huang said. “Local advances in this sector can provide for domestic needs as well as those of foreign markets.”

A former head of the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Huang said the SGESC was designed to be different from other high-tech centers in Taiwan in that it will focus on R&D instead of manufacturing. It will also serve as a site to demonstrate the business potential of advances in renewable energy technologies. The green tech park is located next to the Taiwan High Speed Rail’s Tainan Station with its core area spanning around 22 hectares. It also includes a branch at Taipei-based Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s foremost research institute, and an exhibition center. Eventually, the SGESC will be built into a smart zone characterized by features such as electric vehicles, green buildings and smart grids for electricity management.

The park will have two primary areas, one for research and the other focused on demonstrations. Huang said its high-level researchers and specialists, in addition to those invited from overseas, will come from such bodies as the government-supported Industrial Technology Research Institute, the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research under the Cabinet-level Atomic Energy Council and the MOST-supported National Applied Research Laboratories. R&D activities will primarily center on areas targeted under the FIDP’s green energy initiative, namely power generation from solar and offshore wind sources; energy storage devices such as lithium batteries and fuel cells; and energy conservation technologies for electric vehicles and green buildings.

Taiwan has already made significant gains in the realm of smart energy conservation, with 200,000 low-voltage smart meters expected to be installed across the country by the end of 2017. This number is projected to increase to 1 million units by 2020, and 3 million by 2024.

Knowledge into Practice

To reach the 20 percent target, renewables will have to generate 40 to 50 billion kilowatt-hours a year. The government intends to meet this goal by increasing the installed capacity of solar and wind power from the current roughly 1 gigawatt and 700 megawatts, respectively, to 20 GW and 4.2 GW by 2025. In the solar sector, 3 GW will come from rooftop panels with a further 17 GW from ground-mounted and floating systems. For wind power, offshore turbines will account for around 3 GW, while land-based units will generate approximately 1.2 GW.

The local solar and wind power industries are developing in opposite directions, according to Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲), director of the Energy Technology Division of the Bureau of Energy (BOE) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. On the one hand, as the world’s second largest exporter of solar cells, Taiwan possesses the requisite technical advantages and industrial prowess to rapidly raise the solar ratio in the country’s energy mix. Chen said solar products, when exported, would increase in value if they were shipped as part of systems that require after-sales services. “Our manufacturers would then become service providers, too,” he noted.

On the other hand, as land-based wind energy development is nearing its saturation point along the island’s heavily populated western coast and in outlying Penghu County, Taiwan needs to introduce foreign expertise to install offshore turbines. “It’s a new area for domestic companies,” Chen said. “They need to cooperate with and learn from international wind power firms.” Enterprises from such countries as Australia, Denmark and Germany, he added, have shown great interest and are taking part in projects in the Taiwan Strait, home to some of the world’s best wind resources.

The initial results of local offshore wind power efforts have been promising. Earlier this year, two 4 MW demonstration turbines erected by Taipei-based Swancor Holding Co. began operations in the waters off northern Taiwan’s Miaoli County. Chen pointed out that building the devices was a significant move “because it shows how relevant regulations work, how necessary techniques are applied in locations with recurrent typhoons and earthquakes, and how a financial management plan for a wind farm can be successful.” To date, domestic and foreign firms have applied to construct turbines with a total installed capacity of 10 GW, far beyond the 3 GW target and a strong sign of the sector’s market potential.

Setting up offshore turbines requires extensive marine engineering work, which in Taiwan’s case will be accelerated through funding from the FIDP’s special budgets, Chen said, adding that every dollar the government spends in promoting the generation of green energy is expected to create 58 in production value. Major ongoing construction projects include turbine and submerged platform assembly piers at the Port of Taichung in central Taiwan and Xingda Port in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City, respectively, and maintenance piers at Changhua Fishing Port—immediately south of Taichung City and near major planned wind farms—as well as transmission grids that will send electricity onshore.

All subject to environmental impact evaluations, these projects, in particular the installation of offshore turbines, stand to benefit the local economy and ecosystem in more ways than one. Extensive work must be conducted at every potential wind turbine site. “The resultant understanding of undersea conditions could also offer valuable information for local fishing communities,” Chen said. For example, offshore structures will act as artificial reefs that will make excellent habitats for marine life. Moreover, offshore wind farm operations and maintenance require familiarity with local environments and will create considerable job opportunities for locals. Eventually, Chen believes, the re-energized local economies will be hard at work powering the country’s sustainable future.

Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw