The government’s energy transition plan depends on the construction of the proposed third liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal off the coast of Datan Borough (大潭) in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) to increase LNG power generation, Minister of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
“If we do not have the third LNG terminal as planned, we will not be able to reach 50 percent electricity generation from natural gas and 30 percent electricity generation from coal” by 2025, Wang said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei.
In December last year, 41.5 percent of Taiwan’s electricity came from coal-fired plants, 40.1 percent from natural gas, 14.4 percent from nuclear power and 5.8 percent from renewables, Bureau of Energy data showed.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
The government plans to phase out nuclear power by 2025, reduce the use of coal to 30 percent and boost renewables to 20 percent.
The two existing LNG receiving terminals are already running at full capacity, necessitating the third LNG terminal, Wang said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) asked Wang whether the ministry has a backup plan if a referendum to block the terminal plan prevails.
“As of now, there is no plan B,” Wang said. “The MOEA calls for the swift construction of the third LNG terminal to reduce the amount of coal burned.”
“Gas from the third LNG terminal would fulfill the power needs of 10 million Taiwanese and close the power gap in the north of Taiwan,” Wang said. “This would allow us to generate power where it is used, lowering systemic risk.”
LNG power generation releases approximately 50 percent less greenhouse gas than coal-fired power generation, and much fewer pollutants.
The 5,824 megawatt Taichung Power Plant is the third-largest coal-fired plant in the world and is often fined by the Taichung City Government for using too much coal.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
Call it an antidote to fast fashion: Japanese jeans hand-dyed with natural indigo and weaved on a clackety vintage loom, then sold at a premium to global denim connoisseurs. Unlike their mass-produced cousins, the tough garments crafted at the small Momotaro Jeans factory in southwest Japan are designed to be worn for decades, and come with a lifetime repair warranty. On site, Yoshiharu Okamoto gently dips cotton strings into a tub of deep blue liquid, which stains his hands and nails as he repeats the process. The cotton is imported from Zimbabwe, but the natural indigo they use is harvested in Japan —
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
RSS