A small-scale hydrogen power plant in Taichung, the first of its kind in Taiwan initiated by a local government, began operating on Wednesday.
The Shishuike River Small Hydropower Plant has an installed capacity of 185 kilowatt-hours (kWh), meaning it can sell about 1,000 renewable esnergy certificates a year, Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said during the opening ceremony for the plant.
Each certificate represents 1,000kWh of green power generated from renewable sources and can reduce carbon emissions by about 0.5 tonnes.
Photo: Ou Su-mei, Taipei Times
The green energy generated by the plant and the renewable energy certificates are to be sold to Delta Energy, a subsidiary of Delta Electronics, Lu said.
The core services of Delta Energy include assisting businesses in procuring green energy and achieving zero carbon goals, the company said.
BOT MODEL
Lu said the project was launched based on the build, operate and transfer (BOT) public-private partnership model, under which the city signed a 20-year cooperation contract with partner companies investing in the building of the plant, which would be transferred to the city government after 20 years of operation.
She also touted the city government’s efforts to promote renewable energy, saying that all government offices and schools in Taichung are required to have solar panel installations on their rooftops.
More than 85 percent of schools in the city have installed solar panels, she added.
The city’s renewable power generation reaches 2.56 billion kilowatt-hours every year, which is equivalent to one-third of the power generated by the Taichung Thermal Power Plant, Lu said.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Minister of Environment Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明) said that the Taichung City Government’s experiences in combating climate change can be used as a reference by other local governments.
A transition to renewable energy is essential to mitigating climate change, Peng said, adding that while small-sized hydropower plants can generally produce only small amounts of power, they can generate great benefits cumulatively.
Peng added that he hoped the first local government-initiated small hydropower project would attract more to emulate it.
As for renewable energy certificates, Peng said that after companies purchase green electricity certificates, they can be used to offset carbon fees in the future, as Taiwan has yet to set a carbon fee rate.
To cope with future carbon tariffs, companies would work hard to achieve net zero, creating a promising market for green certificates, he said.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS