The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) yesterday said that solar panels would soon be installed on the top of its depot in Chaozhou (潮州) in Pingtung County, in accordance with the government’s goal of having 1 million “sunny rooftops” across the nation.
The national railway operator said that it would hold a two-stage public auction to find a contractor for the project, adding that the first stage of the auction would be held on Aug 28 to review the qualifications of interested bidders.
The TRA would provide the rooftops and the contractor would be in charge of construction, operation and maintenance of the solar energy system, the operator said.
The TRA would receive a certain percentage of the profits after the contractor sells the energy generated to Taiwan Power Co.
The TRA estimated that the solar power system could generate at least 5 million kilowatt-hours per year on average and help reduce the nation’s carbon emissions by about 2,645 tonnes per year.
It would also help generate revenue of at least NT$36 million (US$1.2 million) over the next 20 years.
The Taoyuan Metro Corp (桃園捷運) said that it would introduce a new combination pass on Thursday, allowing people who want to watch Summer Universiade games to transfer from the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Access MRT System to the Taipei MRT System.
The Universiade is to open on Saturday next week.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦), Taoyuan Metro Corp chairman Liu Kun-i (劉坤億) and company president Chen Kai-ling (陳凱凌) yesterday participated in a torch-passing event in Taoyuan.
Chen said there are 21 stations on the airport MRT line.
People can access the Taipei MRT System by transferring at Taipei Main Station (A1) or Sanchung Station (A2), which leads to the venues in Taipei.
People can access the venues where archery, swimming and water polo events are to be held by taking the airport MRT system to National Taiwan Sport University Station (A7), Chen added.
Delegations can reach the Athletes’ Village by disembarking at Linkou Station (A9), which is near the village, Chen said.
Passengers using the airport line can also visit the shopping areas and scenic attractions near the airport MRT stations, he added.
In addition to the new combination pass, people can also buy one-day passes, he said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on