State-run utility Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Japan’s Mitsubishi Group to conduct a demonstration project that involves mixing ammonia with coal to generate power at the Linkou Power Plant (林口發電廠) in New Taipei City.
The project aims to achieve 5 percent cofiring of ammonia at the coal-fired plant by 2030 before increasing the use of ammonia to 20 percent, Taipower spokesman Wu Chin-chung (吳進忠) said.
If the 5 percent ammonia cofiring target is reached, it is expected to help the power plant reduce its carbon emissions by 9,000 tonnes per year, Taipower said.
Photo: Lin Jin-hua, Taipei Times
Emissions reduction in the power sector plays an important role in Taiwan’s efforts to reach its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Taipower continues to promote a coal-to-gas shift at coal-fired plants — which includes burning ammonia with coal — energy storage technologies and sources of renewable energy, Taipower president Wang Yao-ting (王耀庭) said during the signing ceremony.
Toshiyuki Hashi — chief executive officer of gas power at Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Ltd, a power solutions brand — said that Taiwan and Japan face common challenges in fuel imports and development of renewable energy sources, adding that he believes through collaboration, the two countries can effectively foster and accelerate an energy transition.
Hiroki Haba, chief operating officer at Mitsubishi Corp’s Next Generation Fuels & Petroleum business division, said that the group plans to spend ￥1.2 trillion (US$8.6 billion) to develop next-generation energy technologies.
As part of that approach, Mitsubishi Corp is seeking to make the ammonia-coal cofiring technology used in the demonstration project with Taipower more cost competitive, Haba said.
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