Taiwan

Taiwan completes offshore wind development guidelines

Three companies have been working on the guide since 2014.

Taiwan's thermal energy reliance to jump to 95% by 2026

Total output will grow 60% as nuclear power will be phased-out.

Taipower's 70 years of monopoly in Taiwan power sector just ended

Government gives the go signal to liberalise green energy supply.

Danish firm DONG Energy opens Taiwan office

It eyes developing 4 offshore wind farms in Changhua County.

Taiwan to stop nuke power generation by 2025

Government gave in to public demand to ditch nuke.

COUNTRY REPORT: From security to shortage: How will Taiwan free itself from regulatory chains?

Taiwan’s energy industry is revealed to be the product of an era that engages high-level regulation.

Fistfight among Taiwanese lawmakers delays nuclear plant vote

Vote on national referendum triggers brawl in parliament.

Taiwan's Interior Minister visiting Japan for nuclear energy talks

Meeting with officials from Japanese regulatory agencies.

Taiwan favors rooftop solar installations

Plans to increase solar capacity to 3.1 GW by 2030.

Why Taiwan is not giving up its nuclear power

There are encouraging news in promoting green energy including that Japan will become a new star of solar power. However, many indications show that the tendency of using nuclear power to generate electricity is still far from extinction. Among them is the case in Taiwan whose President ,Mr. Ma Yin-Jieu ,recently staying one night at one of the nuclear power plants reflecting the continued support for using nuclear power. It is sad and irony to the country which enjoys more resources of wind and solar power than Japan and Germany but contrubutes so little to the clean environment compared to those two contries. Especially it is among the top players of green energy equipments and solutions supply in terms of solar power and LED lighting. The construction of the fourth nuclear power plant on the island has long been a political issue in the past two decades. It has already paid tremendous cost for the delay. But the decision of abolishing it seems still remote even though people have rejected it in several referendums. Why is it so difficult for many countries including Iran or Taiwan to abolishing nuclear power plants? First of all, it is the replacement interest of current coal based system which is still playing an important role for the country. The second factor is that the lobbyists representing nuclear power plants providers have successfully built connection with influential politicians who have helped ambiguous safety measures pass the parliament before. The third factor is to keep the possibility of making nuclear weapons. All reasons look simple but are getting more and more difficult to defend. From the development of wind farm and solar power plant around the island, we notice that wind farms are ahead of solar power plants. This is because most of the wind farms are owned by Taipower directly or by other private companies which have joint venture with Taipower. On top of that nearly all of them are managed by retired high rank officers of Taipower while the solar power plants are seen only sporadically on some private companies' or local governments' projects claiming to nurturing the industry symbolically. Though the pressure to use green energy is getting higher, but as long as the government is reluctant to give up nuclear power policy and hesitating to strongly promote solar power, the existing interest group which is well linked with Taipower is going to keep the island away from clean environment for a long time.

Japan and Taiwan JV wins Qatar refinery contract

Will build second condensate refinery at Qatar’s Ras Laffan Industrial City.