Wind power has become the nation’s second-most important source of green energy after solar power, and is helping to keep the nation’s power grid online, Taiwan Power Co (台電, Taipower) said yesterday.
Total wind power generation hit a record 1.63 gigawatt-hours (GWh) on Tuesday, Taipower said.
Offshore wind power generated 1.38GWh on Friday, the first time that total output from offshore stations has exceeded 1GWh, it said.
Photo: Lin Ching-hua, Taipei Times
Taiwan has excellent locations for wind farms, especially with the northeastern monsoon winds setting in during autumn, Taipower said.
As of August, power generated from wind turbines this year — especially after government and private efforts to increase the number of turbines — reached 2.89TWh, 94.1 percent more than the same period last year, the company said, adding that more turbines are becoming operational.
In July, total storage capacity for wind turbine-generated power grew to 2.25GWh, three times more than the 671MWh in July 2016, it said.
Taipower’s policy regarding power needs is to prioritize green energy usage, which the company said has helped to reduce the use of power from coal-fired plants or natural gas.
Reducing the power grid’s reliance on coal-fired generators ahead of the air pollution season would help reduce emissions, it added.
Power generators running on natural gas, which are able to increase or reduce power production quickly, can be used along with green energy to provide rapid backup power, Taipower said, adding that using more natural gas-powered generators as opposed to coal-fired generators would help to maintain a stable power grid while meeting environmental conservation goals.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS