Opposition proposes 2028 coal exit at Taichung Power Plant

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) Opposition lawmakers on Tuesday passed a resolution calling for the Taichung Power Plant to stop generating electricity from coal by 2028, six years earlier than the government's target of 2034, a timeline Taipower considers unfeasible.

In the proposal, opposition lawmakers argued that the planned addition of gas-fired units could enable the plant to eliminate coal by 2028.

The plant uses outdated subcritical coal-fired units, which have the lowest power generation efficiency, according to the proposed resolution, jointly submitted by the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP).

It noted that two newly added gas-fired units in Phase 1 of the Taichung Power Plant, along with the privately owned Chung Chia gas-fired power plant, are scheduled to begin operations by 2026 and could replace the electricity from the plant's coal-fired units.

Under the government's 2034 target, 71 percent of coal units will still be operational in 2031, which contradicts its promise that "for every new gas-fired unit added, one coal unit will be retired," opposition parties noted in their proposal.

"Coal is the most harmful of all energy sources, with central Taiwan accounting for 60 percent of the country's coal-fired power generation -- 45 percent of which comes from the Taichung Power Plant alone," the proposal read.

Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, and Tainan are most severely affected by coal burning at the Taichung Power Plant, it added.

Ahead of the vote that adopted the proposal Tuesday evening, Taipower Chairman Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) voiced opposition, warning that such action would result in the loss of 14 percent of Taipower's power supply capacity.

"Were the Taichung Power Plant to eliminate the use of coal by 2028, the national power system could face collapse," Tseng told a press conference.

The opposition should consider a stable alternative energy source, if they want to remove 14 percent of the country's power generation capacity, Tseng said.

According to the government's plan to transform the plant, two Phase 1 gas-fired units will go online in 2025 and 2026. Following this, coal-fired units 1 and 2 will be decommissioned, units 3 and 4 will remain as backup power sources, while the remaining six units will maintain normal operations.

Phase 2 will begin with a gas-fired unit coming online in 2031, alongside the decommissioning of coal-fired units 3 and 4. In each of the following three years, another gas-fired unit will be launched, while two coal-fired units will be retired and converted to emergency backup, continuing through 2034.