Taiwan is rich in geothermal energy and should make more use of this sustainable natural resource to generate electricity, thus helping to alleviate pressure on the country’s other power generation facilities, geoscientists said yesterday.
Song Sheng-rong (宋聖榮), a professor at National Taiwan University’s Institute of Geology, said geothermal energy is abundant beneath Taiwan.
“Estimates of the electricity-generating potential of geothermal energy in Taiwan totals about 25.4 gigawatts, equivalent to 9.7 times the total installed capacity of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant,” Song said during a press conference on renewable energy.
One gigawatt is equal to one billion watts.
“Taiwan could reduce its -reliance on nuclear power plants if it were to explore and develop geothermal power,” Song said.
He recommended geothermal energy as a safe, sustainable and low-pollution power source. Meanwhile, Lee Chao-shing (李昭興), a professor at National Taiwan Ocean University’s Institute of Applied Geosciences, said that CPC Corp, Taiwan, built a geothermal power plant in Qingshui (清水), Yilan County, in 1981 that had an installed capacity of 3 million watts.
It was the 14th such plant in the world to be able to successfully generate electricity from geothermal energy, Lee said. However, the plant was closed down 12 years later, the victim of technical bottlenecks.
Today, geothermal power is a rising star in the world’s energy sector, with drilling and related technologies constantly progressing and maturing, Lee said.
Geothermal power has become increasingly popular worldwide as fossil fuel prices continue to soar and nuclear power plants trigger radiation crises, he added.
Lee suggested that Taiwan could emulate Iceland, the US, the Philippines and New Zealand — the major countries that use geothermal energy to generate electricity — by tapping its own geothermal resources.
Taking Iceland as an example, Lee said that geothermal energy is not only used to generate electricity, but is also used to heat swimming pools, fishing ponds and greenhouses.
Both Song and Lee are involved in an energy resources exploration project authorized by the National Science Council.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
RSS