Despite rising fuel costs and increased power demand, Taiwan’s electricity prices have remained unchanged for the past four years. With the budgets of state-run gas company CPC and electricity provider Taipower stretched thin, is it time to rethink subsidized power? Taiwan has some of the world’s lowest electricity prices. The question is why? With no…
After three island-wide blackouts in less than a year, concerns about Taiwan’s power generation capacity and grid resilience continue to grow. Last September, an article in Taiwan Business TOPICS posed the question of whether Taiwan is facing a looming power crunch. Just half a year later, the question has changed to “is Taiwan’s power crunch…
Three recent island-wide blackouts have laid bare the degree of strain put on Taiwan’s grid and the people keeping it running. As a result, Taipower now finds itself in a race against time and budget to ensure the grid’s future stability. The immediate cause of Taiwan’s latest major blackout is indisputable – in fact, it…
March Blackouts Raise Supply, Grid Concerns Taiwan experienced widespread blackouts on March 3, affecting over 5 million households around the island. Both human error and mechanical failures were at fault, according to Taiwan’s state-owned electricity monopoly Taipower. Although power was restored by the end of the day, the incident caused significant disruption to households and…
A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS First Commercial Geothermal Plant Goes Online The Cingshuei Geothermal Power Plant, Taiwan’s first commercial geothermal power-producing facility, began operations on November 23. The plant’s most significant feature is its ability to produce a 24-hour supply of renewable energy….
With new technology and investments, geothermal power could become a viable energy source in Taiwan – as long as regulatory hurdles are overcome. Given Taiwan’s location on the Pacific “ring of fire,” its potential for geothermal energy has long been recognized. With more than 4,000 hot spring sites on the island, there is plenty of…
As Taiwan moves toward its goal of nuclear decommissioning and increasing renewable energy use, it is threatened with an insufficient electricity supply. To fend off what some say is an imminent crisis, Taiwan must accelerate its development of solar and wind power. When President Tsai Ing-wen ran for Taiwan’s top office, one of her signature…
A new, globally certified training center in Taichung is helping Taiwan develop specialized personnel and talent for its offshore wind industry. Taiwan’s shortage of qualified talent to work in the offshore wind business is among its chief challenges in developing the sector. Unlike many nations that have developed offshore wind, Taiwan has almost no marine…
The Taipower company is currently emphasizing the increased use of clean-burning natural gas (LNG), the reduced use of coal, and the development of green-energy resources. The company’s 2019 emission-reduction report card revealed that, in that year, Taipower had already achieved its original goal of halving its 2016 air pollution emission intensity by 2030. In consequence,…
Permanent storage in deep geological repositories is the current international standard for final disposal of nuclear waste, but in practice this solution has so far proven extremely difficult to accomplish. The U.S. government has de-funded its deep geological repository at Yucca Mountain, and most nations have yet to begin development of similar facilities. Finland is…
