State-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) yesterday said it plans to invest more than NT$400 billion (US$11.89 billion) in the development of renewable energy sources over the next 15 years, with the aim of expanding the nation’s total installed offshore wind power capacity to 180 megawatts (MW) and total installed solar power capacity to 100MW by 2030.
The company also aims to bring land-based wind energy capacity and thermal power capacity up to a total of 70MW by that time.
Over the past 15 years, Taipower has completed six wind power projects, involving the installation of 169 wind turbines.
The company has completed the first phase of a solar energy development project, which includes 16 energy generation facilities with a total capacity of 1.82MW.
Cumulative installed wind power and solar power capacity is about 30MW, the company said.
Work on an offshore wind power development project in Changhua County’s Fangyuan Township (芳苑) is scheduled to start in 2018, which is expected to attract investment of more than NT$45 billion in related fields.
The company also plans to harness energy from geothermal sources in volcanic areas of Taitung and Yangmingshan in Taipei over the next four years.
It has also concluded feasibility studies on several hydropower projects using water resources from the Liyutan Reservoir (鯉魚潭水庫) in Miaoli County, the Hushan Reservoir (湖山水庫) in Yunlin County and the Jiji Weir (集集攔河堰) in Nantou County.
Work on the Liyutan project is scheduled to start in 2017 and the hydropower plant there is set to start commercial operations in 2020, Taipower said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost