Of the 82 wind turbines that make up Taiwan Power Co's (Taipower, (台電) wind-powered energy generation plans, as many as 51 turbines have at one time or another been inoperative.
Taipower blames the high rate of malfunctioning on Taiwan’s hot climate and lack of supporting equipment. The high rate of breakdown is a significant setback to the implementation of the government’s renewable energy policy.
To meet government targets for clean energy, Taipower planned to invest NT$19 billion (US$624 million) in 180 wind turbines, with a total capacity of 330,000 kilowatts, between 2003 and 2010. However, to date, only 82 have been completed, with the malfunction rate reaching a high 62 percent.
Taipower said that, of the malfunctioning turbines, three were manufactured by GE, 22 by Harakosan and six by Gamesa. Most of the turbines are distributed along the western shoreline.
In terms of generation, the 82 completed turbines have generated 560 million kilowatt-hours of electricity. At NT$2 per kilowatt-hour, the turbines have generated NT$1.12 billion, a miniscule sum compared with its investment of nearly NT$10 billion.
As for capacity utilization, only the turbines in Penghu County and Changhua County were able to operate at 47 percent and 35 percent respectively. In other areas, such as in Shihmen (石門), Taipei County, and Hengchun (恆春), Pingtung County, the turbines were operating at less than 30 percent capacity.
Commenting on the major problems surrounding wind power generation, an unnamed director from Taipower described the situation as “utterly ridiculous.” Some Taipower staff also questioned the fact that the department in charge of wind-power generation had not been held responsible nor faced disciplinary action.
Sources say that the 51 faulty turbines were all contract based on the most advantageous, rather than the lowest, bids.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS