Energy: Hualien to get fuel plant

The Hualien county government and the Industrial Technology Research Institute signed a contract yesterday to build a refuse-derived fuel (RDF) plant in Hualien, according to a spokesman for the Energy Commission. The spokesman said that the commission has entrusted the ITRI to develop the RDF technology -- which can turn waste paper, plastic and fiber into a solid fuel -- and to introduce the application to local governments. He pointed out that the people of Taiwan produce an average 10 million metric tons of garbage annually. If the new technology can turn 15 percent of this garbage into a fuel source, the energy derived would be equivalent to the thermal energy derived from burning 460,000 tonnes of coal, he added.