State-run Taiwan Power Company reported that it has been reinforcing the grid network to accommodate the expected surge in green-power supply, which, coupled with various countermeasures for the sporadic nature of such power supply, will assure stable power supply.
Taipower made the statement, in response to a report that up to 30% of green power output in the future will be wasted, due to insufficiency of the grid. The problem was brought up by Chen Li-cheng, a blogger on energy, in an op-ed in a local media recently, citing a speech by Huang Teh-jui at 2018 PV Taiwan, who referred a study of Taipower. The report caused quite a stir, overshadowing the DPP government's nuclear-free homeland vision.
Taipower noted that it has been reinforcing the grid network via management of flexible power output, smart grid, energy-storage devices, and forecast for output of PV power and wind power, according to revised "Electricity Act," which calls for priority effort in having the grid accommodate green power. The company has publicized information on grid capacity and grid-connection circuits, in addition to developing GIS mapping system, to facilitate grid connection for private green-power operators.
Taipower admitted the retention of the right to ask off-shore wind power operators to lower their power output or even suspend operation, as mentioned in the op-ed, saying that it is a common practice worldwide, in order to protect the safety of the system.
The DPP government has targeted boosting the share of green power to 20% by 2025, compared with 4.9%, or 11.246 billion kWh in 2017, of which hydraulic power accounted for 54.2%, followed by marsh gas and biomass with 25% and PV power and wind power, both with 16%.
(First photo courtesy of Solar Trade Association via Flickr CC BY-SA 2.0, written by Daisy Chuang)