As Taiwan works to decrease its reliance on fossil fuels and nuclear power, much of its attention has been focused on wind and solar power. But Taiwan is also sitting right atop another rich source of green energy, and now, a project is underway that will try to tap into it.
The government’s plan to phase out nuclear power in Taiwan by 2025 has set an ambitious target. By that date, according to the plan, Taiwan is supposed to be able to meet 20% of its energy needs with clean, renewable sources.
But there is a problem. Taiwan’s capacity to generate power from wind and solar energy is limited. One possible solution now being explored is right beneath our feet- geothermal power. On the outskirts of Taipei Wednesday, drilling work began for a pilot project to build a geothermal plant.
The site of the project is the Tatun Volcano Group, believed to hold 70% of Taiwan’s potential geothermal power.
The project’s immediate aims are modest- generate enough power to meet the monthly needs of around 3400 households.
The CEO of an energy company involved in the project says getting the plant ready could take two to three years. But Professor Song Sheng-Rong of National Taiwan University’s Department of Geosciences says that the project will not be without difficulties. Song says project planners will have to find a way of dealing with the corrosion that acidic fluids will cause to machinery and pipes.