Taipei is building its first solar power plant using ground-mounted solar panels at a former landfill, the city government said yesterday.
The project is part of the capital’s efforts to expand the use of renewable energy.
The Taipei Department of Environmental Protection yesterday signed a contract with Taipei-based Tatung, one of Taiwan’s leading brands for energy saving and “green” energy-related systems and services, at a ceremony at Fudekeng Environmental Restoration Park (福德坑復育公園), where the solar power plant is to be built.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The 37 hectare park in the Muzha (木柵) area on the southeastern edge of the city used to be a landfill.
The solar power plant is expected to be completed by the end of this year and is to be able to generate up to 2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection said.
Speaking at the ceremony, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) said that renewable energy sources generate about 487 million kilowatt-hours of electricity for Taipei, which accounts for only 3 percent of the city’s total power consumption.
The city is aiming to increase the contribution by renewable energy sources to 10 percent of its total power generation by the end of 2025, Ko said.
To that end, the city government is to use public land to develop solar power systems and will also subsidize the private sector to install solar power facilities to encourage wider use of solar energy, Ko said.
The new plant is expected to cut 18,905 tonnes of carbon emissions in the city annually, the department said.
The park is spacious and receives sufficient sunlight, department Commissioner Liou Ming-lone (劉銘龍) said, citing the latter as one of the reasons that it was chosen as the location for the plant.
The Chinese military has built landing bridge ships designed to expand its amphibious options for a potential assault on Taiwan, but their combat effectiveness is limited due to their high vulnerability, a defense expert said in an analysis published on Monday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the deployment of such vessels as part of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s East Sea Fleet signals a strong focus on Taiwan. However, the ships are highly vulnerable to precision strikes, which means they could be destroyed before they achieve their intended
About 4.2 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the first half of this year, a 10 percent increase from the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The growth continues to be consistent, with the fourth quarter of this year expected to be the peak in Taiwan, the agency said, adding that it plans to promote Taiwan overseas via partnerships and major events. From January to June, 9.14 million international departures were recorded from Taiwan, an 11 percent increase from the same period last year, with 3.3 million headed for Japan, 1.52 million for China and 832,962 to South Korea,
SOVEREIGNTY: The rigs show that Beijing ‘rejects Taiwan’s jurisdiction’ by building in areas where Taipei demands permission to build or alter installations Chinese oil rigs have been sighted just 26 nautical miles (42km), from Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙島), posing a threat to Taiwan’s sovereignty if left unchallenged, a brief published by the Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday said. Pratas Island, 444km from Kaohsiung, is northeast of the South China Sea and houses a Taiwanese garrison. The brief, titled “Rigging the Game: PRC Oil Structures Encroach on Taiwan’s Pratas Island” — referring to the People’s Republic of China — analyzed photographs and said that Beijing’s tools to pressure Taiwan now include oil rigs. “Oil rigs now constitute part of Beijing’s
The Taiwan Experience Education Program (TEEP) has funded short-term internships in Taiwan for more than 4,500 young people from more than 40 countries since 2015, with the goal of attracting and retaining international talent, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. Fifty-five colleges launched 514 projects this year, including in fields such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, medicine and biotechnology, green energy, and sustainability, it said. The program provides research and practical internships in Taiwan for two to six months, and offers cultural exchange and networking opportunities, the ministry said. For example, National Formosa University’s Embedded System and Autopilot Laboratory developed two solar-powered drones in
RSS