Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) on Friday announced it has been awarded a NT$58 billion (US$1.93 billion) contract by state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) to build a solar power plant with a capacity of 100 megawatts, which would be the largest of its kind in Taiwan.
The solar power plant is to be located in Changhua Coastal Industrial Park (彰濱工業區), Chunghwa Telecom said in a statement, adding that the project is to cover about 140 hectares.
The plant is expected to be ready for a trial run after about 15 months of construction, the company said, adding that the whole project is to be completed in 2019.
Wang Hui-min (王惠民), president of the company’s southern Taiwan business group, said in the statement that Chunghwa Telecom has been developing solar, wind and biogas energy since 2015, in line with the government’s policy of promoting the development of “green” energy in Taiwan.
As of September, Chunghwa Telecom had completed 373 “green” energy projects, with total power generation of 103 megawatts, Wang said.
The company’s most recent “green” energy project was completed in March, when it teamed up with Kingstone Energy Technology Corp (國軒) to install rooftop photovoltaic systems at Chih Lien Industrial Co Ltd’s (志聯工業) steel plant in Taoyuan.
The project’s first phase — 500-kilowatt photovoltaic (PV) systems — at the Chih Lien steel plant began operations on April 10 and the second phase — 1,800-kilowatt PV systems — is being planned, Chunghwa Telecom said.
Local media reported that the Taipower project in Changhua is a turnkey project, in which Chunghwa Telecom collaborates with other firms to provide the design, procurement, contracting and construction for the entire project.
Chunghwa Telecom’s subcontractors on the project are reported to include Neo Solar Energy Corp (新日光能源), Fortune Electric Co (華城電機), Star Energy Corp (星能) and Oriental Union Chemical Corp (東聯).
The project is expected to contribute to company revenue in 2019 to 2020, chief financial officer Harrison Kuo (郭水義) said.
In the first 10 months of the year, Chunghwa Telecom reported revenue of NT$185.42 billion, down 2.6 percent year-on-year, with net income decreasing 5 percent annually to NT$33.5 billion, or earnings per share of NT$4.32, the company said on Nov. 10.
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