MAN D&T helps to stabilise Taiwanese island grid

The Chinese EPC company Chung Hsin Electric & Machinery Mfg Corporation (CHEM) has ordered two MAN 51/60 gensets with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and auxiliary equipment to add capacity to the Ta-Shan power plant in Taiwan, Republic of China. The plant is located on the western side of Kinmen Island and provides baseload to the island’s grid. Operated by the Taiwan Power Company, the engines will add 24.5 MW to the plant’s current capacity of 64 MW. MAN Diesel & Turbo is also responsible for engineering and commissioning the engines, which are scheduled for delivery in 2018.

Need for capacity

A study by TPC shows that the island’s peak load may exceed the current reliable power supply by 2019, according to Wilson Phua, regional sales manager power plant for the Asia-Pacific region at MAN Diesel & Turbo in Singapore. “This project will close that gap and thus secure a reliable power supply for Kinmen, in line with the government’s policy of ... promoting the economic prosperity of the outlying islands.”

To meet the island’s stringent emission regulations, TPC will operate the engines on ultra low sulphur fuel with low ash content, limiting sulphur oxides and particulate matter emissions to an absolute minimum. In addition, two SCR units will be installed to provide after-treatment for the engines’ exhaust gases and reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides. TPC already operates a total of 78 MAN engines in several power plants, including the 15 MW ZuShan plant, constructed on Matsu Island in 2007.

Kinmen Island is approximately 300 km across the Taiwan Strait from the port of Kaohsiung on the main island of Taiwan. Shou-Yung Chao, CHEM’s power project division director, commented on the challenging timeline for this project: “The strong winds in the Taiwan Straits limit the window for the delivery of heavy equipment to a three months period between June and August, which obviously must not be missed. Also the unloading of the equipment has to happen via beach landing, which is hard to schedule as it largely depends on the weather conditions. But both MAN and CHEM are experienced companies in the field of island power plants so they are used to dealing with challenges like this.”