Taiwan’s annual energy reserve capacity margin could consistently drop to below 10 percent by 2018, as the planned power generation capacity might not meet rising domestic energy demands, sharply increasing the chance of power shortages, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower 台電) said yesterday.
The prediction of the potential shortage has been moved forward two years partly due to a delayed replacement of the Tongxiao natural gas-fired power plant (通霄電廠) in Miaoli County, the company said.
Taipower said it initially encountered difficulties in obtaining construction licenses.
“The energy reserve capacity margin could plunge to 4.8 percent by 2019 following the retirement of the second reactor of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門),” Taipower spokesman Roger Lee (李鴻洲) said at a press conference.
The annual power reserve capacity margin refers to a utility’s capacity to generate more energy than the total power system normally requires.
Taipower said it is better to maintain the reserve margin of 15 percent as insurance against breakdowns or a sudden surge in electricity demand.
Every year, Taipower releases a forecast of annual power reserve capacity for the next few years based on the nation’s electricity demand and economic growth.
Lee said this year’s reserve capacity margin is 10.4 percent, down 4.3 percentage points from last year’s 14.7 percent, due to the retirement of two power generation units of a coal-fired power plant in Linkou District (林口), New Taipei City.
Based on past records, the nation could face power rationing measures if the energy reserve margin drops below 7.4 percent, Lee said.
“To reduce the chance of power shortages, the nation has to conserve energy and the government must speed up the installation of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power generation,” Lee said.
In a separate press conference, the Bureau of Energy said it plans to increase its power contribution to renewable energy sources from this year’s 11.6 percent to 30.7 percent by 2030.
In a bid to accelerate the diversification of Taiwan’s energy sources and deal with the increasing risk of power shortages, the bureau is to boost the target for total installed capacity of renewal energy sources to 17,250 megawatts (MW) by 2030 from the previous target of 13,750 MW, bureau Director-General Lin Chuan-neng (林全能) said.
“We plan to relax the bidding regulations for solar power and wind power installations to achieve our target,” Lin said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$10.26 billion to finance the construction of its second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, and a second fab in Arizona, using advanced process technologies. The Department of Investment Review approved TSMC’s investment applications on the basis that Taiwan remains a major technology and manufacturing hub for the chipmaker, which makes its most advanced chips at home, the company operates its research-and-development center here and the majority of its capacity remains in Taiwan. The latest capital injections — US$5.26 billion for its Japanese venture Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
Packed into a small room, a drone, bipedal robot, supermarket checkout and other devices showcase a vision of China’s software future — one where an operating system developed by national champion Huawei (華為) has replaced Windows and Android. The collection is at the Harmony Ecosystem Innovation Center in the southern city of Shenzhen, a local government-owned entity that encourages authorities, companies and hardware makers to develop software using OpenHarmony (鴻蒙), an open-source version of the operating system Huawei launched five years ago after US sanctions cut off support for Google’s Android. While Huawei’s recent strong-selling smartphone launches have been closely watched for
The waves of the Aegean Sea lap gently at the tables and chairs of two beach restaurants on Greece’s Halkidiki peninsula. It is an idyllic scene, but one that is totally illegal. Like many others in Greece, the two establishments on Pefkochori Beach do not have a license to set up shop so close to the water. After a wave of protests last summer by locals about bars and restaurants illegally covering beaches with sunbeds and tables, the Greek state is taking action. It is cracking down on rogue tourist practices with surveillance drones, satellite imagery and a special app
South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc, the world’s No. 2 memorychip maker, is to invest 103 trillion won (US$74.6 billion) through 2028 to strengthen its chips business, focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), its parent SK Group said yesterday. SK Group also said it plans to secure 80 trillion won by 2026 to invest in AI and semiconductors as well as fund shareholder returns, while streamlining its more than 175 subsidiaries. The sprawling conglomerate outlined the plans following a two-day strategy meeting, aiming to revive the group after SK Hynix, its main money maker, and the group’s electric vehicle battery arm suffered heavy losses. SK