The government would consider raising its average annual electricity demand growth forecast through 2035 above the 2.5 percent it projected in June based on a high-demand scenario, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday.
Kung did not specify a growth projection, saying that further details would be announced later, and that the government would ensure sufficient and stable power supply.
The minister’s remarks came after Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Wednesday said that the government would raise the growth forecast beyond the 2.5 percent annual rate, as demand for electricity from the artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industries continues to grow.
Photo: Meryl Kao, Taipei Times
The government initially projected average annual electricity demand growth of 1.7 percent from last year to 2034, before raising the forecast in June to 2.5 percent from this year through 2035.
Power demand forecasts take into account economic growth, actual electricity consumption and energy-saving efforts according to demand scenarios, Kung said.
Ensuring stable power supply remains Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) top priority, he said.
On Taipower’s recent proposals to supply electricity to large AI data centers through direct lines, Kung said the key is data center site selection and local grid conditions.
North of Hsinchu, grid conditions are tight and new large-scale AI data centers could face restrictions and require assessments, while central and southern Taiwan are less likely to face those constraints, he said.
Separately, regarding a fire involving a single turbine at Orsted Taiwan Ltd’s (沃旭能源) Greater Changhua offshore wind farm on Aug. 8, Kung said it was the first such incident among more than 500 turbines in Taiwan.
The fire resulted from an equipment malfunction, but the exact cause remains under investigation, he said.
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