The Kaohsiung City government has successfully turned decaying garbage in a closed landfill into a valuable source of alternative energy, with the largest methane power plant (
Four generators at the plant built at the municipal Hsichingpu (
As a landfill gas, methane is a productive fuel source that can be used to generate electricity rather than being allowed to escape into the atmosphere to contribute to global concentrations of greenhouse gases.
City officials' expectations are high for the plant because the landfill -- containing almost nine million tons of garbage -- should be able to produce fuel the plant for at least 20 years.
"Transforming hazardous landfill gases into useable fuel will create electricity as well as help solve our air pollution problems," said Chang Feng-teng (
The plant was designed by Cleanaway (
Cleanaway, under a 20-year contract with the Kaohsiung City government, will build three more generators in a bid to raise its total power capacity to 9500 kilowatts, supplying nearly 14,000 families every day in the future.
Since the landfill began operations in 1977, residents near the dump have complained of the terrible stench from what they claim have been improper methods of dealing with the waste, such as openly burning the refuse.
It was not until 1986 that city environmental officials began to treat the contaminated water that was seaping away from the dump. Prior to that time, the landfill was not properly insulated from the underlying soil and no provisions were made for collecting the methane gas that was escaping.
In the 1990s, the 48-hectare landfill became part of Kaohsiung's legacy of poor public management. The result was that in 1994 and 1995, several violent demonstrations were staged which created tension between local residents and the city government headed by Mayor Wu Tun-yi (吳敦義). At the time, Wu said that the landfill was nearly full and would be impossible to relocate.
Residents demanded that the former head of the environmental bureau, Wu Ming-yang (
When the landfill was finally closed in June 1999, the city government commissioned a study to turn the area in to a park.
In addition, a methane-fueled power plant was one of essential parts of the project.
Environmental official Chang said that the once putrid Hsichingpu Landfill would eventually be transformed into the "lungs of Kaohsiung," providing fresh air and an abundant supply of electricity.
The methane plant in Kaohsiung is the second in Taiwan. The Taipei City government built the first one last November at its Shanchuku Landfill (
It is also being operated by Cleanaway.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said. The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
RSS