Taiwan is considering setting up renewable power plants in neighboring countries, such as the Philippines, and transporting the electricity back home to meet the green power needs of Taiwanese manufacturers, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday.
“The green power could be brought back via ships or submarine cables,” the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) quoted Kuo as saying on the sidelines of the annual Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.
As local governments and residents frequently differ in opinion about constructing new power plants, and it takes time to communicate and bridge the differences, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has to find a way to meet the nation’s industrial development and carbon reduction goals, as manufacturers needing green power cannot afford to wait, Kuo said.
Photo: CNA
While deliberations on this idea are still in the early stage, Kuo touted the substantial benefits of building renewable power plants abroad.
First, it would address the problem of setting up new power plants in Taiwan, and second, the imported green power would be cheaper than renewable energy developed in Taiwan, he said.
As Taiwan is in the process of shutting down its nuclear power plants and the government has pledged to cut carbon emissions and achieve net zero by 2050, the nation’s demand for green energy would only grow, he said.
Kuo added that the idea of building power plants abroad was inspired by Singapore, which plans to import power from Australia, which is about 4,800km away.
It should therefore not be a problem for Taiwan to establish a green power plant on the Philippine island of Luzon, which is about 300km away, he said.
There are three types of green power that can be developed in the Philippines: solar, wind and geothermal, he said.
“We will look for a neighboring country that offers resources where we can develop green power, and we will encourage Taiwanese firms, not necessarily state-run Taiwan Power Co (台電), to build the power plants there,” before bringing the energy back to Taiwan, Kuo said.
The minister added that American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene would assist Taiwan in finding suitable locations for overseas power plants, including the Philippines and Japan.
Kuo first shed light on building renewable power plants in the Philippines on Monday night when he attended the launch of the Indo-Pacific Strategic Thinktank in Taipei.
He added that Taiwan hopes to contribute to the Luzon Economic Corridor launched by the US, Japan and the Philippines earlier this year to boost regional development.
However, experts said that building a submarine cable between Taiwan and the Philippines could present challenges, including time and cost.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
RSS