《TAIPEI TIMES》Solar energy hit record on Monday noon

By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

The power generated by solar power plants hit a record 5.5 gigawatts on Monday noon, about twice the power generated by nuclear power plants during the same period, Taiwan Power Co （Taipower, 台電） said.

請繼續往下閱讀...

Moreover, the solar power generated on Monday surpassed the total installed capacity of the nation’s major coal-fired power plants, including Datan Power Plant （大潭電廠） in Taoyuan, Kaohsiung’s Hsinta Power Plant （興達電廠） and Taichung Power Plant, Taipower said in a statement on Monday.

Solar energy supplied about 15 percent of total power consumption on Monday noon, the state-owned utility said.

Due to high temperatures, peak-hour power consumption surged to 39.516 gigawatts at 2pm on Monday — surpassing peak-hour records for August, it said.

Solar power plants generated 5 gigawatts of power, supplying 12.7 percent of peak-hour power usage that day, it said.

With the aid of solar energy, Taipower managed to keep operating reserves at a healthy level of 11.58 percent during peak hours on Monday, it added.

Overall, the nation saw its installed solar power capacity rise to 7.65 gigawatts at the end of last year, compared with 1.25 gigawatts in 2016, thanks to efforts by the government and local companies in establishing solar farms over the years, Taipower said in the statement.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES