The drilling of Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower)’s first geothermal exploration well began last Thursday, which means green electricity will become reality on Green Island. Taipower Department of Renewable Energy director Chen I-cheng said that Green Island meets all conditions for geothermal energy — including heat source, water source and geological structure — “and this is exactly what the textbook says,” said Chen. Chen also said that geothermal energy has the properties of base load power generation, so it is more stable than other renewable energy such as solar energy and wind power.
According to Taipower’s plan, an experimental 200 kW generator will be set up before the end of next year, and it is estimated that before 2021, a model geothermal power plant with a capacity of to 2,000 to 4,000 kW will be completed and will then provide 80% of Green Island’s annual electricity demand.
Chen said that although Green Island is suitable to geothermal power generation, it still has to go through the trial stage to know the total energy capacity of the geothermal field through before it can be scaled up and developed into a model geothermal power plant.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
照片：維基共享資源
Taipower will also set up 100 kW solar power generation devices on Green Island next year. In the future, Green Island will mainly rely on geothermal energy supplemented by solar power.
It is worth mentioning that Taipower mainly uses diesel to generate electricity on the outlying island. Adding the cost of transportation, it costs Taipower NT$14 per kWh — a loss of more than NT$10 per kWh sold. The cost of geothermal power generation per kWh is NT$6, which is at least 50% cheaper than diesel power and will effectively reduce Taipower’s power supply cost.
(Liberty Times, translated by Lin Lee-kai)
Photo courtesy of Taipower
照片：台電提供
台電首座「地熱試驗探勘井」於上週四動工，意味綠島用綠電將成真。台電再生能源處處長陳一成表示，地熱發展條件包括熱源、水源與地質結構，而綠島都符合具備，「完全就是教課書上說的條件！」，陳一成也說，地熱具有基載發電特性，比起太陽能、風力等再生能源更穩定。
根據台電規劃，二○一九年底前會先設置一部實驗性質的二○○瓩發電機，預計二○二一年前則要完成地熱示範發電廠，裝置量上看二○○○至四○○○瓩，屆時可供綠島全年八成用電。
陳一成指出，雖然綠島適合發展地熱，但仍要先實驗，試運轉後了解整體地熱田的蘊藏量，才能擴大規模，發展成地熱示範發電廠。
另外，台電明年也將於綠島設置一○○瓩太陽光電；未來綠島會以地熱為主、太陽光電為輔。
值得一提的是，台電在外島發電多用柴油發電，若加上運輸成本，每度高達十四元，賣一度電要虧逾十元。而地熱發電每度成本六元，至少省一半，將可有效降低台電供電成本。
（自由時報記者林菁樺）
DID YOU KNOW?
你知道嗎？
Green Island is a naturally formed volcanic island, and its Zhaori Hot Spring is one of only three sea-water hot springs in the world along with the springs on Kyushu Island in Japan and Sicily in Italy.
Geothermal energy is heat energy stored and generated in the Earth’s crust, which originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials.
The principle of geothermal power generation is to use the inexhaustible supply of geothermal heat to heat groundwater, making it steam to propel the turbine to generate electricity.
綠島是天然的火山島，島上著名的朝日溫泉，與日本九州島及義大利西西里島溫泉並列為世界三大海底溫泉。
地熱能是產生與儲存在地殼中的天然熱能，這種能量來自地球形成時內部的熔岩和物質的放射性衰變，也是引致火山爆發及地震的能量。
地熱發電的原理為利用取之不盡的地熱來加熱地下水，使其成為蒸汽來推動渦輪機旋轉發電。
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