Taiwan Finds Profit in Alternative Energy

February 27, 2006

The government of Taiwan is espousing a new doctrine of conservation and green energy in an effort to turn the island into a "Green Silicon Island." At the crux of this initiative is the Challenge 2008: National Development Plan, an expansive government project devised to shift Taiwan into the next phase of economic development, as it becomes a "knowledge-based economy."

The Challenge 2008 Plan, a five-year plan conceived in 2003 by the executive branch of Taiwan’s government, outlined ten national projects to pace the country’s manufacturing and service sectors for the next few decades. One of the ten national projects focuses on developing an indigenous green energy platform. The goal of the project is to generate 10 percent of Taiwan’s total energy needs through renewable resources, such as solar power or wind power.

Already the shift to a "Green Silicon Island" is underway. Off the coast of Taiwan, the Penghu Islands are constructing vast wind farms to harvest renewable energy. The Penghu County Government, in cooperation with the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), has started building large electricity-generating wind turbines off the northern coast of the islands.

According to Tung-Lin Hung, Director, Tourism Department, Penghu County Government, "Penghu is situated in an ideal spot for electricity-generating windmills, as crosswinds come through the islands during the winter season." Hung indicated that Taipower has moved quickly to take advantage of this natural resource, having already set up eight wind turbines on the island through cooperation with other international manufacturers, including General Electric.

According to the ten-year project, Taipower will construct an additional six turbines by the end of 2006, bringing the total number up to fourteen. At the end of the project in 2015, Taipower will have built 231 wind turbines around the Penghu Islands – 55 of which will be situated on land, while another 178 will be located offshore.

Other manufacturers in Taiwan are focusing on renewable energies that every consumer can carry. Fuel cell technology looks to eliminate the battery as we know it today and replace it with "fuel cells," clusters of energy-creating packs that are driven through environmentally friendly materials.

Antig Corp., headquartered in Taipei, is one such manufacturer, producing direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) that convert methanol into energy, with the only by-product being water. The methanol can then be refilled or the empty container thrown out with no harmful effects to the environment.

Antig has created a unique solution by breaking its methanol fuel cells down into components. This flexible architecture allows users to extend their batteries depending on the usage – ranging from portable devices, to larger items such as notebooks, and even potentially to home generators.

Antig is not alone in its endeavors. Taiwan-based Asia Pacific Fuel Cell Technologies (APFCT) is building its own series of fuel cell technologies, albeit for much larger platforms. APFCT has created its own layered fuel cell stacks that can power much larger devices, ranging from personal transportation devices to larger vehicles and power generators. APFCT fuel cells also differ in their technology, using metal hydride hydrogen storage as a means of generating energy.

Hydrogen conversion provides more energy in a smaller device size, but faces restrictions due to its volatility. However, APFCT has found a solution in its metal hydride casing, as chemical reactions release the hydrogen in a safe manner, converting it to energy.

Metal hydride has been pronounced as safe by the US Department of Energy, and is currently the preferred method employed for hydrogen transport in the US. Additionally, the metal hydride solution stores 10 times more hydrogen than compressed gaseous hydrogen.

Bringing products to market has been a difficulty for many fuel cell companies, yet, APFCT already offers its own electric scooters, the Zero Emission Scooter. The 5th generation scooter, the ZES IV.5, has a maximum speed of 52 km/hour, and can drive a distance of 60 km at speeds of 30 km/hr.

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Government of Taiwan