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.
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 last year 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
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
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
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS