《TAIPEI TIMES》 Two new coal plants to offset retired nuclear reactor

NO BLACKOUTS: Power outages last year were caused by human error and weather, and maintenance of two generators add to energy stability, officials said

By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter

請繼續往下閱讀...

The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said power supply is likely to remain stable this year as energy from two new coal-fired power generators is expected to offset the loss of output of the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant’s No. 2 reactor after it is retired today upon reaching its service lifetime of 40 years.

The loss of the reactor in New Taipei City’s Wanli District （萬里） has triggered concerns about possible blackouts and power supply interruptions.

“To handle the shutdown of the No.2 reactor, Taiwan Power Co （Taipower, 台電） is adding two new coal-powered generators, which together can provide a combined capacity of 1,300 megawatts, surpassing the 935-megawatt capacity from the No.2 nuclear reactor,” Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua （王美花） said at a news conference in Taipei.

“There should be no power storage problem this year,” she added.

The new coal-fired generator at the Datan Power Plant in Taoyuan is expected to be connected to the grid next month, and run at its full capacity of 1,120 megawatts in July or August, Wang said.

A smaller coal-fired generator in Miaoli’s Tongsiao Township （通宵） was connected to Taipower’s grid in January, she said.

Taipower last year was ahead of schedule on maintenance of two generators, reducing pressure on the allocation of power capacity, Wang said.

The generators are to return to use by the end of next month, contributing a combined 7,110 megawatts to the power grid, she said.

Renewable energy is also to increase its share to the grid this year, Wang said.

Solar energy is to contribute about 500 megawatts during the day, while the Deji Reservoir （德基水庫） in central Taiwan is expected to provide about 1,147.3 megawatts of hydroelectric power at night, she said.

The reservoir’s level is at 63 percent capacity, indicating a reduced risk of a water shortage this year, she added.

The new coal-fired generators would allow for stable power supply, Taipower spokesman Wu Chin-chung （吳進忠） said, adding that last year’s outages were caused by human error and weather.

However, power generation costs are rising and adding pressure to Taipower’s already strained finances, Wu said.

Separately, Wang said the failure of US-based Silicon Valley Bank （SVB） is unlikely to affect Taiwan as the US government has enacted measures to ensure protection of deposits.

On the sidelines of a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee yesterday, Wang said the problems resulting from the SVB’s financial woes would be well handled, as US regulators acted promptly.

The local banking, insurance and securities industries have no exposure through their own funds to SVB, the Financial Supervisory Commission said last week.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES