《TAIPEI TIMES》 Solar, wind power hit new milestone

GREEN TRANSITION: Power generated from solar and wind made up 31.53 percent of the nation’s energy mix on Monday, once again surpassing coal and setting a record

By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

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Power generated from solar and wind made up nearly one-third of the nation’s energy mix at noon yesterday, setting a record, Taiwan Power Co （Taipower, 台電） said.

Electricity generated from solar and wind totaled 7 gigawatts, accounting for 31.53 percent of the power generated at the time, surpassing the 31.21 percent recorded on Jan. 25 and setting an all-time high, the state-owned utility said.

Taipower credited fair weather conditions for the milestone.

Taiwan also hit a separate milestone in green energy transition, after solar and wind sources had generated more than 15 percent of the nation’s electricity for seven days in a row as of Monday, Taipower said.

The government has set the goal of reducing its dependence on “gray” electricity and boosting green power generation to 15 percent of the nation’s energy mix by 2025, down from its original goal of 20 percent.

In December last year, the nation generated more electricity from solar and wind power than coal for the first time, with gas power taking the lead, Taipower data showed.

The increase in green energy generation and the decline in coal power indicate that green energy is replacing “gray” electricity in the nation, Taipower said.

Gas remains the nation’s largest power source, generating about 33 percent of its energy on Monday noon, Taipower data showed.

The growth in renewable power generation could also be linked to more solar panels and wind turbines being installed in Taiwan, the utility said.

Last year, solar panels with a combined capacity of 2.5 gigawatts were installed on rooftops and fish ponds, Taipower said.

Offshore wind turbines with a combined capacity of more than 1 gigawatt were also erected, the company added.

Last year, 20.08 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity were generated by solar and wind, amounting to about 8 percent to all power generated, Taipower said.

With new solar and wind power plants coming online, the Ministry of Economic Affairs expects the renewable sources to produce an additional 2 gigawatts of electricity this year, which would be equal to the power generated by two nuclear reactors.

Household energy users and businesses have voiced concerns about possible power shortages as the nation changes its power mix.

Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng （曾文生）, who is acting chairman of Taipower, said he does not expect the retirement of a nuclear power plant to cause a shortage in the power supply, as increases in renewable energy would offset the impact.

Tseng made the remarks during a Femora TV interview on Sunday in response to concerns about the planned retirement this month of a reactor at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District （萬里）.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES