Taiwan holds inaugural international geothermal conference
2023 Taiwan International Geothermal Conference (source: MOEA Taiwan)
Carlo Cariaga
10 Jan 2023
Taiwan's first International Geothermal Conference highlighted the country's geothermal potential and served as a platform for discourse on emerging technologies.
Taiwan held its first International Geothermal Conference on 9 January 2023 with more than 30 firms and 400 attendees participating. The event was held in hybrid format with options available for either virtual attendance and in-person participation at the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC) in Taipei City.
The daylong event was sponsored by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and organized by the Taiwan Geothermal Association. The programme featured 11 speakers from Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden, Singapore, and the United States who presented on the latest and emerging developments on the geothermal industry.
The event served as a great opportunity for local businesses to share their latest technologies while also exchanging knowledge with global counterparts. This serves the ultimate goal of fast-tracking the development of the geothermal industry in Taiwan which is set to play a major role in the country’s energy transition and 2050 Net Zero goal according to the MOEA Deputy Minister Tseng Wen-sheng.
The highlights of the conference included a presentation of the government incentive programs and regulation amendments to facilitate geothermal development. These included incentive measures and simplification of permit procedures among others. There was also an in-depth introduction of the ten potential geothermal energy hot spots in Taiwan.
Taiwan achieved a milestone year in 2022 with the start of commercial operations of the 4.2-MW Qingshui geothermal power plant in the Yilan region. Since then, several international firms have invested on geothermal projects in Taiwan including Schlumberger, GreenFire Energy, Baseload Capital, and Ormat Technologies. According to the Taiwanese government, the country has a geothermal potential of around 40 GW and the current target is to develop 6.2 GW.
Source: Taiwan Today and Baseload Power Taiwan via Linkedin
