World’s largest renewable energy PPA
The world’s largest renewable energy Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) has been signed in Taiwan between TSMC and Ørsted for the 920MW Greater Changhua 2b & 4 offshore wind farm.
A renewable corporate PPA is a deal where an energy producer sells power to a business at a fixed price over a set period of time.
TSMC will offtake the full production of the farm from Ørsted once it reaches commercial operations in 2025 or 2026, subject to grid availability and Ørsted’s final investment decision.
A spokesperson for TSMC, the world’s largest contract semiconductor foundry, said “As a corporate citizen, TSMC is taking ‘green action’ to carry out our responsibility to environmental protection.”
Under the 20-year fixed-price agreement with TSMC, the Greater Changhua 2b & 4 offshore wind farm will receive a price for power during the entire period that is higher than the feed-in-tariff which was originally secured via the outcome of Taiwan’s first offshore wind auction in June 2018.
That is very good news for Ørsted, as there have been some conflicts with the government over these rates.
Taipower will be building a new transmission grid to accommodate offshore wind farms, and is expected to provide Greater Changhua 2b & 4 with grid access in late 2025.
Train derails at Changhua station
A Tze-chiang limited express train on Friday derailed at 6:10 p.m. at Changhua Station as it was about to be dispatched.
Fortunately, as it hadn’t yet been dispatched, it hadn’t yet taken on passengers, so no one was injured.
However, it caused delays for 20,234 passengers.
The derailment damaged some of the tracks, and as a result all trains in both directions had to travel on one track, causing a delay totaling 2,921 minutes for 59 trains, the TRA said.
The administration said it fixed the problem overnight, and all services were back to normal at 4:30 a.m. Saturday.
The reason for the derailment is under investigation.
Two bus accidents
An accident involving a truck and a Kuo-Kuang intercity bus on Freeway 1 left 13 injured.
The bus had only just left for Taipei and had only reached the Fengyuan District.
According to a preliminary investigation, a car cut in front of the truck in order to reach an exit ramp, causing the truck driver to brake hard.
The bus driver applied the brakes, but was unable to stop in time and slammed into the back of the truck.
Tests showed neither driver was drunk.
Fortunately none of the injuries were life threatening, but the driver suffered a fractured arm, and two passengers suffered broken teeth.
18 of the passengers were uninjured.
In related news, heavy rains on Friday caused a tree to fall on Taiwan Blvd, smashing the windshield of a BRT bus.
No one was injured.
Unfortunately, an accident involving a bus in Changhua ended in the death of a 27 year old scooter rider when she was hit by a Changhua Bus company bus.
Environmentalists to converge in Taichung to protest
An alliance of environmental groups is planning to march in Taichung on Aug. 8.
They hope to raise public awareness about air pollution and call for the building of a carbon-free homeland.
One reason it was decided to hold the march on Aug. 8, which is Father’s Day in Taiwan, was to highlight the gender discrepancy in Covid-19 deaths.
The pandemic seems to have hit men harder than women, and high air pollution could be a risk factor.
The groups will call on the government to declare a state of emergency due to extreme severe weather and take action to cut carbon emissions by establishing a task force similar to Germany’s coal exit commission.
They will also urge the government to develop a timetable to phase out coal power and eventually reach zero net carbon emissions by 2050.
In other protest news, over 100 people in Tianzhong Township in Changhua came out to protest the construction of a natural gas compression station by the local gas company, likening the station to a bomb.
Also in Changhua, in Hanbao Village residents voted unanimously to reject a plan by the county to build a Cute Animal Sanctuary.
This animal sanctuary, to house stray pets and prepare them for adoption, was previously planned for Xizhou township, but protesting locals there turned violent in 2017.
Good to be from Hemei Township
Hemei Township in Changhua has announced that it will be handing out NT$600 to everyone with a household residence in the town.
Hemei has over 90,000 residents, and the entire giveaway is expected to be about NT$54 million.
“King of Mandopop” snubbed in Taichung
On Monday, possibly the most recognizable man in the Chinese-speaking world and beyond, Jay Chou, as in Taichung.
The so-called “King of Mandopop” popped into a small, inexpensive shop selling pasta for a bite to eat.
The proprietor didn’t recognize him, much to the shock of netizens.
It wasn’t until a friend alerted her, and they checked the video recording of the visit that she realized who her customer was.
She was reportedly very upset at having lost this golden opportunity to get a selfie with the star.
Photo courtesy of the Ørsted Facebook page
