Power plants in Taiwan could be turned into energy parks that use decarbonization technology to help the nation produce electricity more efficiently, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said on Friday.
Tseng, who doubles as chairman of Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), said during a seminar about electricity that the power industry must improve on automation, digitalization and availability (the amount of time equipment is available for production) to meet the needs of an electrified society.
An electrified society requires the use of electricity in a more efficient manner, and it would test Taipower’s ability to employ a wider variety of energy sources to produce, transmit and distribute power, Tseng said.
Photo: CNA
With the nation expected to use increasingly more green energy, the company expects by the Lunar New Year in 2030 there could be periods in which the amount of power generated exceeds overall demand, Tseng said, adding that there is a need to develop a plan to ensure electricity is not wasted.
Under President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Taiwan aims to generate 50 percent of its electricity with natural gas by 2030, followed by renewable energy at 27 to 30 percent and coal at 20 percent.
Energy storage systems or using wind power to produce hydrogen could be two ways to meet the challenge of excess power production, Tseng said.
“Low carbon energy parks” is an idea that the company has proposed for future natural-gas-based power plants, incorporating both existing gas-fired generator sets, and wind power and new technologies such as hydrogen-producing stations, along with carbon capture and storage, he said.
Power plants in Taichung, Miaoli County’s Tongsiao Township (通霄) and Taoyuan’s Datan Borough (大潭) — all located near offshore wind power farms — would likely be pilot project candidates, Tseng said.
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