Electricity generated by solar and wind sources made up more than 50 percent of the nation’s energy mix at 12:21pm on Sunday, a record high that saw renewable energy surpass coal power, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) said.
Electricity produced from solar and wind sources totaled 10.01 gigawatts (GW) accounting for 52.37 percent of all power generated at the time, the state-owned utility said in a news release.
It is a huge leap for Taiwan given that during the Lunar New Year holiday in January last year, electricity generated by solar and wind sources broke the 30 percent mark for the first time, it said.
Photo: Lin Ching-hua, Taipei Times
Taiwan also hit a new milestone at about noon on Sunday, as solar energy sources generated 8.09GW of power, surpassing 8GW for the first time, Taipower said.
Due to a weather front moving south, electricity generated by wind sources rose to 1.9 gigawatts at about noon on Sunday, it added.
The increase in power generated by renewable sources means Taipower can conduct maintenance on coal and nuclear plants so that they are ready for the peak electricity consumption season in summer, the firm said.
The government has set a target of acquiring 15 percent of the nation’s power from renewable sources by 2025.
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