Hsinta power station

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This article is part of the Global Bioenergy Power Tracker, a Global Energy Monitor project.

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Hsinta power station (興達燃氣機組更新改建計畫(NEW1, NEW2, NEW3), 臺灣電力興達發電廠) is an operating power station of at least 3310-megawatts (MW) in Kaohsiung, Yongan, Taiwan with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Xingda power station.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Hsinta power station	Kaohsiung, Yongan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan	22.856179, 120.197438 (exact)

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

• CC1, CC2, CC3, CC4, CC5, New 1, New 2, New 3: 22.856179, 120.197438
• New Unit 1, New Unit 2, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4: 22.85577, 120.197167

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name	Status	Fuel(s)	Capacity (MW)	Technology	CHP	Start year	Retired year
CC1	Operating	fossil gas: LNG	442	combined cycle	not found	1998	2027 (planned)
CC2	Operating	fossil gas: LNG	442	combined cycle	not found	1998	2027 (planned)
CC3	Operating	fossil gas: LNG	442	combined cycle	not found	1998	2027 (planned)
CC4	Operating	fossil gas: LNG	442	combined cycle	not found	1998	2027 (planned)
CC5	Operating	fossil gas: LNG	442	combined cycle	not found	1999	2027 (planned)
New 1	Construction	fossil gas: LNG	1300	combined cycle	not found	–	–
New 2	Construction	fossil gas: LNG	1300	combined cycle	not found	–	–
New 3	Construction	fossil gas: LNG	1300	combined cycle	not found	2025 (planned)	–
New Unit 1	Cancelled	coal: unknown	1000	unknown	–	–	–
New Unit 2	Cancelled	coal: unknown	1000	unknown	–	–	–
Unit 1, timepoint 1	Mothballed	coal: bituminous	500	subcritical	–	1982	2023 (planned)
Unit 1, timepoint 2	Cancelled	bioenergy: wood & other biomass (solids)	500	subcritical	–	–	–
Unit 2	Mothballed	coal: bituminous	500	subcritical	–	1983	2023 (planned)
Unit 3	Operating	coal: bituminous	550	subcritical	–	1985	2025 (planned)
Unit 4	Operating	coal: bituminous	550	subcritical	–	1986	2026 (planned)

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name	Owner	Parent
CC1	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
CC2	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
CC3	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
CC4	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
CC5	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
New 1	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
New 2	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
New 3	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
New Unit 1	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
New Unit 2	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
Unit 1, timepoint 1	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
Unit 1, timepoint 2	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
Unit 2	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
Unit 3	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]
Unit 4	Taiwan Power Co [100%]	Taiwan Power Co [100.0%]

Unit-level fuel conversion details:

Unit 1: Planned conversion from coal to bioenergy cancelled.

Background

Hsinta power station is a coal- and gas-fired power station. The coal units consist of two 500 MW and two 550 MW units built from 1982 to 1986. It is owned by Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), and is located in Hsinta, Kaohsiung County. The power station sits adjacent to the Yongan Wetland, an important habitat for wild birds.

Coal-fired Units 1 and 2 are expected to be decommissioned in 2023 and coal-fired Units 3 and 4 are scheduled to be decommissioned in 2026. They are planned to be replaced by three new natural gas generating units of 390 MW each.

In November 2018, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said units 1-2 would be retired in 2023 and units 3-4 in 2024. In June 2019, it was reported that units 3-4 would be put on standby in 2024 and used only when needed, with priority given to gas-fired power.

There are currently 5 combined cycle units of 445 MW each at the site, all fueled by natural gas and operating since 1998-1999. These 5 units are expected to be decommissioned from 2026 to 2027.

In March 2022, a Taipower equipment malfunction led to twelve hours of power outages across Taiwan. The power grid lost a third of its capacity, and the Hsinta station was were the incident began. Several other stations went offline as a result. According to reports, the incident was caused by human error.

In September 2022, Taipower discussed strategy changes aimed at avoiding outages like what occurred at the Hsinta power station in March. They would attempt a distributed microgrid method, which reduces interregional power supplies and increases resilience. Hsinta power station would supply the Southeastern Taiwan Science Park. The company planned to invest NT$564.5 billion (US$18.13 billion) towards this goal over ten years.

Proposed biomass conversion of coal unit(s)

In April 2023, it was reported that one coal-fired unit at Hsinta power station was to be converted to a biomass-fueled unit, presumably Unit 1, which was scheduled for retirement in 2023. As of November 2023, the website of EPC company Gibsin also indicated in its list of current projects that "Hsinta Power Station Unit No. 1" was undergoing a biomass "retrofit" conversion. In early 2024, it was unclear if Unit 1 had been retired or continued operating past its planned retirement date.

In February 2024, reporting continued to indicate that Unit 1 would be converted to biomass. The new wood pellet unit was expected to begin operating in 2025 or 2026. However, reporting in July 2024 announced that the biomass conversion plans had been cancelled by Taipower (Taiwan Power Co) in response to "government instructions."

Mothballed coal units and retirement plans

While reports from Argus Media and Taiwan Power Co suggest that the coal-fired Units 1 and 2 were decommissioned in late 2023, the two units still appear to be available for use as an "emergency power facility."

A July 2024 update from Taiwan Power Co stated that the coal-fired Units 3 and 4 would retire in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Based on recent reporting and the company's handling of Units 1 and 2, it appeared that Units 3 and 4 would likely become mothballed, rather than fully retired and disconnected from the grid.

Hsinta Power Plant Combined Cycle Renewal Project

Hsinta Power Plant Combined Cycle Renewal Project, via taipower.com.tw

As of December 2020, three new combined cycle units were planned and expected be commissioned from 2023-2026.

In April 2021, in response to a public protest in Kaohsiung, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) confirmed Taipower plans to decommission all four coal-fired generators at the Hsinta plant in five years' time: The No. 1 and 2 coal-fired generators were scheduled to be decommissioned in 2023 and replaced with gas, and the No. 3 and 4 generators would be reserved for emergency use after new natural gas-powered units go online in 2024, and would be decommissioned at the end of 2025. At the public protest, demonstrators called for the coal-fired units to be decommissioned immediately, noting they had been a major source of air pollution in the city for decades.

As of May 2022, construction or pre-construction work had begun on all three units of the Hsinta Power Plant Combined Cycle Renewal Project. The new project will have a capacity of 3900 MW and was scheduled for completion between February 2024 and August 2025.

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Bioenergy Power Tracker, the Global Coal Plant Tracker, and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.