Taitung Railway Station has become the nation’s first railway station that can generate additional revenue by producing solar energy, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said yesterday.
The agency said it had installed solar panels on the roofs of 12 buildings within the parameters of the Taitung Railway Station in accordance with the government’s policy to develop green energy, conserve electricity and reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Taitung has the unique advantage of developing solar energy as it has sufficient and unimpeded sunlight, the TRA said.
Photo provided by the Taiwan Railways Administration
In addition to roofs, solar power panels have been installed on shades over sidewalks, parking lots and taxi stops, it said.
The total area covered by solar panels at the station is 8,652m2, with a power-generating capacity of 1.51 megawatts, it said.
The production of green energy helped reduce carbon emissions by about 820,517kg per year, which is equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide that can be absorbed by two Daan Forest Parks in Taipei, the TRA said.
It can generate an annual revenue of NT$870,000 per year by selling the green energy to the Taiwan Power Co, it added.
Taxi drivers and passengers accessing the train station benefit from solar panel-covered shades that shield them from rain or sunlight, it said.
The success of the Taitung Railway Station in producing solar energy has motivated the agency to install solar panels in other railway stations around the country, it said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by