In response to the international trends of developing domestic energy sources, mitigating global warming, and achieving net-zero emissions, Taiwan has been actively promoting renewable energy in recent years. Wind and photovoltaic power generation have reached a peak capacity of nearly 8 GW, accounting for more than 32% of the total. However, due to the different characteristics of renewable energy generation compared to traditional power plants, the increasing share of green energy poses new challenges to the power system. Therefore, Taipower has entered into a cross-border collaboration with Reactive Technologies Limited (RTL), an UK-based innovative energy technology company, initiating a 5-year real-time inertia measurement project for the power system. Taipower has stated that this collaboration will contribute to enhancing the real-time monitoring and predictive capabilities of the power system, thereby strengthening power supply stability. Currently, they have deployed real-time frequency rate of change measurement systems at ten locations, including Taipower service centers in northern, central, and southern Taiwan. It is anticipated that next year, these systems will be combined with new energy storage facilities to conduct real-time inertia measurements during live operations.

On September 22, 2023, the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy and the British Office Taipei jointly hosted the “18th UK-Taiwan Renewable Energy Conference” at the Taipei International Convention Center. The conference focused on topics such as offshore wind power operation and maintenance, hydrogen energy, carbon capture and storage, and smart grids for sharing and exchange. Lord Faulkner, the UK’s Trade Envoy to Taiwan, led a delegation of ten UK renewable energy companies to participate. At the event, Taipower was represented by Vice President Chin-Chung Wu, who shared insights from their collaboration with RTL, represented by David Sterling, the Asia-Pacific Regional Business Executive Director, with whom they have been collaborating since the end of last year.

• Today (September 22), the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy, in collaboration with the British Office Taipei, jointly organized the “18th UK-Taiwan Renewable Energy Conference” at the Taipei International Convention Center. (Left to right: Taipower Vice President Chin-Chung Wu, Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy Director Chen-Wei Yu, Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Chief Secretary Yi-Ling Chen, UK Trade Envoy to Taiwan and Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords Lord Faulkner, RTL Asia-Pacific Regional Business Executive Director David Sterling, Director of Trade and Investment at British Office Taipei Stephanie Ashmore).

Taipower has pointed out that RTL, established in 2010, is an internationally renowned resilience technology company in the field of power grids with a focus on inertia measurement in power grids and big data analytics. RTL was recognized as a Bloomberg New Energy Finance Pioneer in 2022 and is considered a noteworthy climate technology startup. In addition to Taipower, RTL’s cooperation extends to well-known electricity companies such as the UK National Grid and Tokyo Electric Power Company in Japan. Taipower initiated its cross-border collaboration with RTL for “Taiwan Power System Inertia Measurement Services” in December of last year.

Taiwan, the UK, and Japan all have island-based independent power grids, meaning that they rely entirely on their own grid operations without the ability for cross-border electricity support, unlike Europe’s interconnected grids. As the percentage of green energy in the energy mix continues to rise, the intermittent nature of renewable energy sources presents new challenges for the grid’s operation. Taipower traditionally estimated the system’s inertia, which is its ability to respond to immediate changes, as a reference for power dispatching strategies. Now, through the collaboration with RTL from the UK, real-time inertia measurement of the power grid is being introduced, extending to the demand side, significantly enhancing precision. This development will help in assessing and responding to various power conditions, increasing the grid’s capacity to accommodate renewable energy sources and reducing the probability of power outages. In case of unexpected power outages, it can also minimize the impact in terms of scope and duration.

Taipower has stated that through the Taiwan–UK collaboration, they have already deployed real-time frequency rate of change measurement systems at a total of 10 locations in northern, central, and southern Taiwan. In the future, they plan to integrate these systems with the Taipower Yilan Dongshan 60-MW (megawatt) energy storage facility, expected to go online next year. This integration will allow real-time signals to be introduced into the power grid, enabling the acquisition of real-time system inertia data. This data will serve as a critical reference for actual power dispatching.

• Glossary: Inertia
  In the context of a power system, stable operation requires maintaining a certain frequency. However, the system may experience fluctuations due to factors such as power generation, power consumption, or sudden events like generator tripping or blackouts. Inertia refers to the system’s ability to resist these frequency variations. In power systems, this inertia is primarily provided by conventional generators with moment of inertia.

Spokesperson: Professional Chief Administrator Chih-Meng Tsai

Contact Number: (02)2366-6271/0958-749-333

E-mail: u910707@taipower.com.tw

Business Contact: Director Fang-Cheng Chou, Power Dispatch Department

Contact Number: (02)2366-6600/0952-810-417

E-mail: u027007@taipower.com.tw