Changhua power station

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Changhua power station (台化彰化發電廠) is a 271-megawatt (MW) coal plant in Changhua, Taiwan.

Location

The undated satellite photo below shows the plant in Changhua.

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Background

The coal-fired power plant is located at Formosa Chemicals and Fibre Corporations’ chemical plant complex. Formosa sells power to Taipower Company, a state-owned enterprise. The plant accounts for about 60 percent of the county’s coal consumption. It was originally a five-unit, 314 MW power station (Units G4-G8), commissioned from 1986 to 1999.

In September 2016 Formosa applied for an extension of permits for three coal-fired cogeneration boilers at the Changhua plant. An extension application was not made for units 1-2, suggesting they have been retired.

After the application, over 3000 people rallied urging the Changhua county government to refuse an extension of the operating permit for the plant, which is due to expire on September 28, 2016. A petition launched on September 10 against the plant for its air pollution effects attracted 10,000 signatures. The Changhua County Council in July 2016 passed a bylaw to enforce more stringent emissions standards to improve air quality by effectively banning petroleum coke and bituminous coal. The county government has issued a statement saying it plans to remove Formosa’s facility from Changhua city to make the city coal-free.

On September 30, 2016, Formosa Chemicals said it will shut down the plant beginning next week as the local government declined to renew permits for its cogeneration equipment. The plant's workers are protesting the decision. In rejecting the company’s application, the county government cited the company’s failure to use less-polluting coal, which it promised to do in an environmental impact assessment report in 1999.

In response to the county decision, Formosa filed an administrative appeal against the county government. In March 2017, the Taiwan EPA said that the county government’s review procedure was flawed, revoking the county government’s ruling and requiring it to produce a new one.

In May 2017 the county government again rejected Formosa's extension applications, and also revoked the company's permits to operate the three boilers. The EPA again said that the county government’s review procedure was illegitimate. Formosa has filed a second administrative appeal against the county government.

Project Details

• Sponsor: Formosa Chemicals & Fibers
• Parent company: Formosa Plastics Group
• Location: Changhua city, Changhua County, Taiwan
• Coordinates: 24.09293, 120.560787 (exact)
• Status: Mothballed (Non-operational since 2016)
• Capacity: 271 MW (Unit G6: 57 MW, Unit G7: 101 MW, Unit G8: 113 MW)
• Type: Subcritical
• In service: 1991 (Unit G6), 1994 (Unit G7), 1999 (Unit G8)
• Coal Type: Bituminous
• Coal Source:
• Source of financing:

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