The nation’s first geothermal power plant started operations in 1981, but was shut down in November 1993 due to geothermal well scaling and pipeline corrosion.
The new Cingshuei Geothermal Power Plant in Yilan County, which was commissioned on Tuesday last week, was built in line with the Act for Promotion of Private Participation in Infrastructure Projects (促進民間參與公共建設法). With a base-load capacity of 4.2megawatts (MW), the plant is set to provide 25 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity per year, sufficient to supply 10,000 households. This is a milestone in the nation’s energy transition.
Among renewable energy sources, geothermal power has the highest development potential, with a power generation rate of 74.5 percent, or even as high as more than 90 percent, if the plant is equipped with the latest technology. Geothermal power’s unique base-load power generation capacity is almost the same as that of conventional power plants.
Theoretically, and calculated on the basis of research data, total thermal energy above mean surface temperature to a depth of 10km is 1.3x1,027, which can fulfill global energy demand for 2.17 million years. A conservative estimate based on the extraction technology shows that the potential of geothermal power generation (assuming a capacity utilization rate of 70 percent) can reach 1,200 gigawatts (GW).
Geothermal systems can be divided into two categories — conventional and deep geothermal — based on extraction type. Conventional geothermal power generation has been in use about 100 years, and is hence a more mature technology. Compared with conventional geothermal energy, deep geothermal energy extraction, which involves creating artificial fissures in rock formations and injecting fluids to extract their thermal energy, has more potential.
Taiwan is in the Circum-Pacific Belt, also known as the “Ring of Fire,” that has frequent volcanic activity and tectonic shifts. It has an estimated conventional geothermal power generation potential of 989MW, and deep geothermal power generation potential of about 31.8GW. If the nation can harness this, it would not only reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, but also help make energy development and application more diverse and autonomous.
In terms of technology, the US, the EU and Australia are committed to the research and development of novel forms of exploration, drilling and geothermal reservoir technologies, aiming to reduce plant construction costs, and increase power generation efficiency and service life.
Academics and industry experts believe that Taiwan can introduce foreign experience and technology where appropriate to shorten the learning curve, and then based on the characteristics of Taiwan’s resources, to carry out the following tasks:
First, establishing a national database for geothermal exploration as references for site selection for geothermal extraction.
Second, introducing deep drilling technology and high-pressure hydraulic fracturing technology to enhance geothermal well productivity and reduce costs.
Third, researching and developing the application of technology to geothermal reservoirs according to their characteristics to reduce maintenance costs.
Fourth, researching and developing scale inhibitors that do not influence water quality to improve the durability of the heat flow system.
Fifth, using the operation and development of conventional geothermal power plants to enhance the confidence of local technology and industry, and move toward the goal of deep geothermal power generation.
Lu Shyi-min is a former researcher at the Industrial Technology Research Institute’s Green Energy and Environment Laboratories.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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