Like the majority of governments around the world, Taiwan’s is taking steps reduce its carbon footprint with a view to reaching net zero by 2050. Its strategic pathway to this goal is based on four major transition strategies in the form of ‘Energy Transition’, ‘Industrial Transition’, ‘Lifestyle Transition’, and ‘Social Transition’. These are flanked by two governance foundations of ‘Technology R&D’ and ‘Climate Legislation’ with a further ’12 Key Strategies’ to ultimately promote economic growth, drive private investment, generate green employment and achieve energy autonomy under the net zero umbrella.
In pursuit of this goal, the Government is casting a wide net, exploring the various forms of renewable energy and how these can support its ambitions. By example, in November, state-owned Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) launched its 2024 small-scale green energy sale, offering self-developed solar and offshore wind power. 71 companies attended and collectively bid for more than 9GWh of green electricity. This represented around a 50% increase from the sale last year and was an important step in Taipower’s commitment to energizing the domestic green energy market.
Going geo
Outside of solar and wind – typically dominant of the global renewables debate – geothermal can also pay a part in Taiwan’s net zero journey and this is a conversation being held with greater frequency.
According to CPC Corporation, the state-owned petroleum company, while geothermal potential has been tentatively explored in the country, the Government’s green energy policies has inspired a new wave of exploration. In 2018, CPC signed an MoU with Taipower to provide the foundation for future collaborations on geothermal power, exploring opportunities from shallow to deep geothermal. Since then, CPC (which claims to have the most technologically advanced geothermal exploration team in Taiwan), has started working with Central Geological Survey, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Academia Sinica and others to investigate and capitalise on the potential of the resource.
And momentum is building across the board. In February, the Ministry of Economic Affairs hosted the Second Taiwan International Geothermal Conference, which included speakers from the US, UK, Sweden, Italy, Japan, and New Zealand to share their expertise on various aspects of the industry. More than 47 international companies and 600 domestic representatives were in attendance in a demonstration of the blossoming geothermal environment that is being fostered.
At the event, it was highlighted that 7.29MW of geothermal energy has already been successfully installed and 24 geothermal sites across Taiwan are under development or operation. This includes sites across the Datun Mountain area, Qingshui, Renze, and Tuchang in Yilan County, Ruisui in Hualien County, as well as Hongye, Jhihben, and Jinlun in Taitung County. Ultimately, these are being pursued in order to reach 20MW by 2025, 200MW by 2030, 2GW by 2040 and, finally, 6GW of geothermal capacity by 2050. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, such an ambition has become feasible due to Taiwan amending the Renewable Energy Development Act last year. This streamlined the administrative procedures for geothermal development and expedited the review process for project approval.
Additional progress has been made since with, in October, Taipower partnering with Taiwan Cogeneration Corporation, international geothermal developer Baseload Power Taiwan, and geothermal technology service provider GreenFire Energy. Together, they are establishing a geothermal team to develop geothermal resources in the Datun Mountain region, splitting upfront costs and introducing international exploration expertise as well as innovative technologies. Following the signing of an MoU, the project will formally commence with analysis of existing geological data, 3G exploration, establishment of conceptual models and identification of drilling targets.
At a similar time, it was also reported that the drilling of Taiwan’s first deep geothermal well has officially commenced. Located in northeastern Yilan, the drilling is being carried out in collaboration with CPC and Academia Sinica and is expected to take 18 months. If successful, the drilling could be quickly replicated with Economic Affairs Minister Kuo Jyh-huei adding that Taiwan has the potential to develop up to 1,000 geothermal wells.
The Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, Lien Jin-chang was himself in the spotlight in November by announcing that the Ministry is targeting the deployment of 20 teams to start deep geothermal exploration by 2025. Calling of private support to complement that received by CPC Taiwan and Taipower, the Deputy Minister set a new goal by committing to reaching 1GW of installed geothermal power generation capacity by 2027/8. This represents a rather sizeable adjustment in ambitions and is a testament to the faith Taiwan has in geothermal to become a leading light in its quest for net zero.