Preparations are in full swing for the commercial operations of the 1-megawatt (MW) Sihuangziping pilot geothermal power plant in Taiwan, following the announcement that it is set to be operational by October 2023. The power plant, now connected to the electricity grid of the Jinshan District in New Taipei City, has the capacity to generate electricity to meet the needs of approximately 1,500 four-person households for an entire year.
Plans are also in motion to commence the construction of a second geothermal power plant in the Sihuangziping area, which will increase the installed capacity to 40 MW. Construction of this expansion is expected to commence by the end of the year.
The unique aspect of the Sihuangziping geothermal power plant is its utilization of the heat generated by the Datun (Tatun) volcanoes. This marks a significant milestone as the first geothermal power plant in Taiwan to be hosted by a magmatic-volcanic heat source. Deputy Mayor Liu Ho-jan of New Taipei City highlighted that the high-temperature geothermal reservoir beneath the Datun (Tatun) volcano group accounts for approximately 70% of the country's shallow geothermal energy resources.
The first #volcanic #geothermal energy development project in Taiwan, Sihuangziping Pilot Geothermal Power Plant, will officially commence commercial operations in October, marking an important milestone in the development of geothermal energy sources in the nation! #sdgs pic.twitter.com/kvAT2dsTC5
— 新北市政府 New Taipei City Government (@NewTaipeiGov) October 4, 2023
Ho Yi-ming, the head of the city government's Economic Development Department, explained that geothermal exploration in the Datun Volcano Group dates back to 1966. However, development of the project faced delays in its early stages due to challenges related to corrosion caused by the acidic nature of the geothermal fluids in the region.
To address these issues, Fabulous Power Co. introduced state-of-the-art global technologies, including dry-steam power generators, to mitigate the effects of the acidic fluids.
It's worth noting that other geothermal power plants in Taiwan, such as the 4.2-MW Qingshui geothermal power plant in Yilan County and the 0.5-MW Jinlun geothermal plant in Taitung County, have different geological characteristics. These plants are hosted by extensional domain-type volcanoes and orogenic belt/foreland basin-type volcanoes, respectively. The classification of geothermal sources in Taiwan is based on research by geology professor Song Sheng-rong from the National Taiwan University in 2021.
