Wind power has become the nation’s second-most important source of green energy after solar power, and is helping to keep the nation’s power grid online, Taiwan Power Co (台電, Taipower) said yesterday.
Total wind power generation hit a record 1.63 gigawatt-hours (GWh) on Tuesday, Taipower said.
Offshore wind power generated 1.38GWh on Friday, the first time that total output from offshore stations has exceeded 1GWh, it said.
Photo: Lin Ching-hua, Taipei Times
Taiwan has excellent locations for wind farms, especially with the northeastern monsoon winds setting in during autumn, Taipower said.
As of August, power generated from wind turbines this year — especially after government and private efforts to increase the number of turbines — reached 2.89TWh, 94.1 percent more than the same period last year, the company said, adding that more turbines are becoming operational.
In July, total storage capacity for wind turbine-generated power grew to 2.25GWh, three times more than the 671MWh in July 2016, it said.
Taipower’s policy regarding power needs is to prioritize green energy usage, which the company said has helped to reduce the use of power from coal-fired plants or natural gas.
Reducing the power grid’s reliance on coal-fired generators ahead of the air pollution season would help reduce emissions, it added.
Power generators running on natural gas, which are able to increase or reduce power production quickly, can be used along with green energy to provide rapid backup power, Taipower said, adding that using more natural gas-powered generators as opposed to coal-fired generators would help to maintain a stable power grid while meeting environmental conservation goals.
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