UK-Taiwan partnership helps net-zero energy transition

In July, the UK and Taiwan started formal discussions on the new UK-Taiwan Enhanced Trade Partnership. This multifaceted agreement covers critical sectors such as energy and net-zero, digital trade and bilateral investment in both countries.

With the common goal of achieving a net-zero mission by 2050, the 18th UK-Taiwan Renewable Energy Conference was held in Taipei on September 22 to deepen the partnership and to explore further cooperation on green energy development between the UK and Taiwan. The UK’s Trade Envoy to Taiwan, Lord Faulkner of Worcester led ten UK renewable energy companies in attending the conference, to share UK best practice in offshore wind development (operations, maintenance and floating wind) and on emerging technologies (low carbon hydrogen, CCS and smart grid) as an example of the two nations’ efforts to share renewable energy expertise and partner for a smoother transition to renewable energy. 

Taiwan is moving toward a goal of generating 20 percent of its electricity generated from renewable resources. According to a press release, Wu Chin-Chung, vice-president of the Taiwan Power Company, said, “The power generated by wind farms and solar panels would have to increase.” As wind and solar power are intermittent sources of energy, grid operators need to take supporting measures to ensure the stability and resilience of the power grid. 

Taipower has successfully integrated the inertia measurement technology into its power system, an innovation developed by UK-based grid technology company Reactive Technology Limited (RTL). According to RTL, inertia measurement enables real-time monitoring of a power system’s stability, more effective risk management, better control of inertia across the network, and critical system stability with a large amount of energy transfer.

RTL representative David Sterling said at the conference that Taiwan is "a very early adopter of offshore wind, and Taipower will be the first to face the new challenges that operators around the world will encounter as they transition to net zero. Increasing renewable energy creates instability in the grid, in particular with regards to inertia, something that Taipower is very wary of.” 

Lord Faulkner said that Taiwan is the UK’s largest offshore wind market in the Asia-Pacific region. He congratulated Taiwan for overcoming many challenges to make progress towards its offshore wind ambitions. He also mentioned that continued bilateral cooperation on renewable energy is the key to ensuring that both Taiwan and the UK achieve shared sustainability and net-zero goals. ce/cy