Taipower to build nation's largest solar power facility in Tainan

Taipei, May 22 (CNA) State-owned electricity supplier Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower), said Wednesday it plans to build a large solar energy power facility in Tainan, southern Taiwan.

Hsu Tuan-kuei (許墩貴), a section chief in Taipower's Tainan division, said the company will invest about NT$7.4 billion (US$235 million) to build a solar power facility with a capacity of 150,000 kilowatts, making it the largest solar energy only generation facility in Taiwan.

Hsu said the new solar energy facility is planned on the salt flats of Cigu District, which have become a popular site for solar energy developers.

The solar power plant is part of Taipower's smart grid program and future power transmission will use the company's extensive smart feed lines in Tainan, Hsu said.

Taipower has installed 430 electricity feed lines in Tainan and by the end of 2025 the number is expected to increase by 630, ensuring all transmission lines are smart, Hsu added.

It is expected that smart electricity grids will be widely used in Tainan from 2024, a year before the smart grid network is completed, Hsu said.

According to Taipower, Tainan is a model city in the development of roof-top solar energy generation facilities and has made an effort to encourage public participation.

The city government just finished a bidding process to determine contracts in several areas such as Sinshih, West-central, Northern, Eastern, Southern, Anping and Annan districts for roof-top solar power generation, and total capacity is expected to reach 14,000 kilowatts, Hsu added.

In addition to solar power development, Tainan is also looking to develop wider renewable energy with total capacity topping 512,000 kilowatts, the highest of all cities and counties in Taiwan.

Renewable energy is part of the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration's crown jewel "5 plus 2" industries to transform Taiwan's economic and industrial structure.

Other industries in the program includes semiconductor, green energy, biotechnology and smart machinery businesses.