Tainan City opened Taiwan's largest land-based solar power plant on March 31. The power plant, which is expected to generate 200 million kWh of green energy annually, is part of the city government’s efforts in actively repurposing salt marshes in the area and balancing environmental protection and industrial development. Tainan City Mayor Huang Wei-che, Premier Su Tseng-chang, MOEA Minister Wang Mei-hua, Ministry of Finance Minister Su Jain-rong, and Taipower Company Chairman Yang Wei-fuu attended the launching ceremony. Participants jointly witnessed the official opening of the nation’s largest solar power plant and Tainan’s progress in becoming a sustainable and smart green energy city.
Mayor Huang expressed that he is happy to witness the opening with Premier Su and thanked the engineers and construction workers for their hard work. Tainan is blessed with the most sunlight hours in Taiwan, making the city an ideal place for solar energy generation. After thorough communication with local residents, Tainan City Government was able to work with the central government to complete this green energy infrastructure and show full support of national green energy policies.
Premier Su Tseng-chang pointed out President Tsai has expressed that Taiwan has to develop green energy technology and applications to ensure the island’s sustainability and secure power supply. These efforts allow the public to live comfortably and support industrial development. The solar power plant launched today is a win-win solution as it is an eco-friendly way to provide stable power supply.
The Salt Field Solar Power Field, which straddles the Qigu and Jiangjun District border, is expected to generate 207 million kWh of green energy per year. In other words, this solar power field can generate sufficient power to satisfy the annual needs of more than 55,000 households while simultaneously reducing approximately 100,000 tons of carbon emissions. According to the Economic Development Bureau, the total installed capacity of the Salt Field Solar Power Field is 150 MW, which exceeds the 100 MW installed capacity at Changhua Coastal Industrial Park. This makes Salt Field Solar Power Field the largest solar power plant in Taiwan and the 46th largest in the world.
Taipower Company also expressed that the Salt Field Solar Power Field is more than a green energy power plant – the location serves as an energy management and application venue and environment education space as well. An independent ecological pond and wild bird habitat are included in the area to maintain biodiversity, and a flood detention pond is constructed for hydrology management. These designs considerably reduce environmental impact while reviving idle spaces, creating a perfect example of reaching a balance between environmental protection and power plant construction demands. Tainan City Government will continue to work together with Taipower Company to turn the location into an environmental education venue and increase Tainan’s green energy and environmental protection efforts.
Since launching the Solarcity 2.0 Project in 2019, Tainan City’s solar power reserve has already exceeded 2GW in 2020, which is ahead of schedule. In the future, the city government will continue to promote the steady development of solar power and work towards its respective reserve volume goals set for 2022 (2.5 GW) and 2024 (3 GW).