Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is looking into potential sites to store enough coal to generate up to 50 days of electricity in the event Taiwan faces a blockade or war, a source said on Saturday.
Government regulations require the utility to store up to 30 days of coal, but Taipower generally maintains a reserve of 40 to 42 days.
However, following China’s drills in August last year, during which it imposed a partial blockade around Taiwan proper, the company might further increase its coal storage to 50 days, the source said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co
Another reason is rising coal inventories due to the nation’s transition to clean energy, as well as some coal-fired power plants shutting down during winter to reduce air pollution, they said.
“If a coal shipment arrives at a port and existing stocks have not been depleted, this causes port congestion,” the source said.
“However, Taipower has only just started looking for storage sites and it would take at least a year to conduct a feasibility study on the plan,” the source said.
The company wants to find a site near a coal-fired power plant, particularly one like the ultra-supercritical plant in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), the source said.
“Another option would be Taichung Power Plant. It will decommission its coal burners and switch to natural gas, but the coal burners would be used as a backup if the need arises,” the source said.
However, Taipower would not restart coal plants in areas where they have caused public discontent, and any restarted plants would use ash ponds to reduce the amount of airborne pollutants, the source said.
Taipower hopes that the central government would subsidize the expenses that would arise from expanding coal storage capacity, especially as the plan would improve national security, the source added.
Separately, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油), which maintains stocks of liquefied natural gas (LNG), said it has a combined stock of 100 days of LNG across all of its facilities nationwide — exceeding the mandated minimum of 90 days.
However, to improve energy security, the company would install additional storage tanks at receiving stations, including those at Taoyuan’s Guantang Industrial Park (觀塘工業區), Kaohsiung’s Yongan Port (永安) and the terminal in Taichung.
The additional tanks would increase storage capacity at each facility from 16 days to 24 days, the company said.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about 1,900 as
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
MORE RESPONSIBILITY: Draftees would be expected to fight alongside professional soldiers, likely requiring the transformation of some training brigades into combat units The armed forces are to start incorporating new conscripts into combined arms brigades this year to enhance combat readiness, the Executive Yuan’s latest policy report said. The new policy would affect Taiwanese men entering the military for their compulsory service, which was extended to one year under reforms by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2022. The conscripts would be trained to operate machine guns, uncrewed aerial vehicles, anti-tank guided missile launchers and Stinger air defense systems, the report said, adding that the basic training would be lengthened to eight weeks. After basic training, conscripts would be sorted into infantry battalions that would take
DEEP-STRIKE CAPABILITY: The scenario simulated a PLA drill that turned into an assault on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, with the launchers providing fire support Taiwan yesterday conducted this year’s first military exercises at Longsiang Base in Taichung, demonstrating the newly acquired High Mobility Artillery Rocket System’s (HIMARS) ability to provide fire support and deep-strike capabilities. The scenario simulated an attack on Penghu County, with HIMARS trucks immediately rolling into designated launch areas and firing barrages at the Wangan (望安) and Cimei (七美) islands, simulating the provision of fire support against invading forces. The HIMARS are supposed to “fire and leave,” which would significantly increase personnel and equipment survivability, a military official said. The drill simulated an exercise launched by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern
RSS