Taiwan Power to complete nation's largest solar plant

The 4.6-megawatt plant will boost Taiwan Power's installed solar capacity to more than 9 megawatts, Chief Engineer Tu Yueh-yuan said by telephone in Taipei yesterday. One megawatt is enough to power 800 U.S. homes.

Taiwan is joining countries including the U.S. and Spain to tap renewable sources of energy to help cut carbon emissions. The 60 megawatt Olmedilla plant in Spain is the world's biggest photovoltaic power station, according to pvresources.com, a Web site on solar technologies and applications.

Fortune Electric Co. is building the plant in the southern Kaohsiung county at a cost of NT$649 million while Suntech Power Holdings Co. will supply the solar panels, Tu said.

To spur renewable energy use, Taiwan's government set minimum wholesale prices in December for electricity generated by solar panels and wind turbines at levels higher than for power from fossil fuels.

Lawmakers approved in June the Renewable Energy Development Act, designed to help cut carbon emissions and reduce dependence on imports, according to the Bureau of Energy. Taiwan relies on overseas shipments for about 99 percent of its energy needs.

“We'll continue to build solar plants,” Tu said, without giving details.

The government owns 97 percent of Taiwan Power, which generates about 75 percent of the electricity the island uses.

Suntech Power, based in Jiangsu, China, is the world's largest maker of polysilicon solar-power modules.

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