The government formally opened a new solar power system on
Taiping Island (太平島) in the South China Sea yesterday to cement
its sovereignty over the disputed territory and help turn the
Spratly Islands (南沙群島) into a “low-carbon area.” “It wasn’t easy
to finish the solar power system in two months and build Taiping
into a low-carbon island, as it lies 860 nautical miles
[1,592.7km] southwest of Taiwan [proper],” Chang Te-hao (張德浩),
director of the Coast Guard Administration’s South Coast Guard
Bureau, said at an inauguration ceremony on Taiping. The 120
kilowatt-peak (kWp) solar power system, built near the island’s
cultural park next to an airstrip, will generate an estimated
175,920 kilowatt hours of electricity per year, while saving
NT$735,346 (US$24,260) in fuel costs, Chang said. The solar
power system will replace 16.8 percent of the electricity
currently produced by diesel generators, Chang said, and it will
also eliminate 119 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. The
island still relies mainly on diesel