Google yesterday said it had signed a geothermal power purchase agreement with Baseload Power Taiwan (台灣倍速羅得) to support clean energy development — its first such deal in the Asia-Pacific region.
Initial projects under the deal would add 10 megawatts of “always-on” power to the grid and “help catalyze Taiwan’s geothermal market,” a post on Google’s official blog said.
Taiwan’s access to “substantial geothermal resources” could complement other renewable sources such as solar and wind, the company said, adding that there is “significant potential” for using underground heat to generate clean electricity.
Photo: AFP
“This long-term partnership with Baseload Capital, which includes an equity investment in the company, represents our latest step to accelerate the deployment of geothermal as a 24/7 clean energy technology across Asia Pacific and globally,” Google said.
The multinational US technology company added that the partnership was an “important milestone in Google’s clean energy journey.”
Energy Administration data showed that Taiwan had an installed capacity of 7 megawatts of geothermal energy production as of February last year — a small fraction of the nation’s energy output.
Baseload Power Taiwan, a subsidiary of Sweden-based Baseload Capital, broke ground on its first power plant project in Hualien County in 2020 and is “still in the drilling phase,” its Web site says.
Baseload Power Taiwan’s Web site also states that four other power plant projects are “ongoing.”
“Our goal is to bring energy resilience and business opportunities to local communities, while contributing to Taiwan’s net zero targets and the objective of 6GW [gigawatts] of geothermal installed capacity by 2050,” the Web site says.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS