An international workshop on geothermal energy development to be held in Taipei today is expected to explore the latest advances in the field and the alternative energy’s commercial viability, the event’s organizer said yesterday.
The APEC Workshop on Geothermal Energy Development has invited experts and industry heavyweights from the US, Japan and New Zealand to discuss the green energy’s future trends and development, said Digitimes Research, which is organizing the event.
Douglas Hollett, director of the Geothermal Technologies Office at the US Department of Energy; Noriyoshi Tsuchiya, a professor at Japan’s Tohoku University; and Brian Carey, department head of Geothermal Sciences at the New Zealand-based GNS Science, are to speak at the forum.
Representatives of AltaRock Energy, POWER Engineers and Schlumberger will also speak at the event, the forum’s Web site said.
Topics are to include the current status of geothermal energy, development policies and strategies, and an overview of the most advanced geothermal technologies, the Web site said.
Although Taiwan is rich in geothermal resources, it has experienced technical bottlenecks in further developing and utilizing it, Digitimes Research said.
The nation does not have any operating geothermal power plants at present, with the first one scheduled to come on line at the end of the year.
The workshop could “serve as a pivotal step in gathering international capacities and in providing surging momentum in geothermal development,” Digitimes said.
The two-day event is being held at the National Taiwan University Hospital International Convention Center, the organizers said.
Taiwan and the US state of Idaho formed an alliance in late April devoted to cooperating in developing the green energy industry.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
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