Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, jointly with CTCI Corporation, the largest engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm in Taiwan, has received an order from Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) for a project to construct three 800 MW coal-fired supercritical* units – units 1, 2 and 3, at Taipower’s Linkou thermal power plant. The project calls for the turnkey construction of the three power generation units to replace existing facilities at the plant, based on Taiwan’s energy source development plan. Units 1 and 2 are scheduled to commence commercial operation in November 2015 and November 2016, respectively; unit 3 is slated to go on-stream in November 2020. Mitsubishi Corp will handle the trade details.
The Linkou plant is located in Linkou district in northern Taiwan, approximately 20 km west of central Taipei. Each unit consists primarily of a boiler, steam turbine and generator. MHI will be responsible for the manufacture and supply of the three boilers and three steam turbines. The three generators will be produced by Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
Taipower is a state-owned utility and the sole integrated power transmission and distribution company in Taiwan. Although Taiwan’s power generation business has been liberalised since 1994, Taipower continues to generate near 75% of all electricity. The company transmits and distributes energy by purchasing electricity produced by independent power producers (IPP). In 2010, Taiwan’s total power generation capacity was 40 250 MW.
Taiwan’s electricity needs have been increasing every year along with continuous economic growth supported by robust external demand. The renewed Linkou plant will meet vigorous demand in Taipei and surrounding areas.
*MHI’s supercritical turbines and boilers are engineered to operate at steam pressures above 22.1 MPa (about 220 times greater than atmospheric pressure, 1 bar) and 374.2°C (705.2°F/647.15K). In actual use, they operate in environments close to 250 bar and 600°C.
