LNG

Taiwan’s state-run CPC Corporation plans to increase US LNG imports to 30-33% of its total supply in 2026, more than triple the 10% recorded last year. The move is part of a bilateral trade agreement, requiring Taipei to reduce the island nation’s $111 billion trade surplus with the United States.

Start-up of the first repowered block of Taipower’s Hsinta plant is accelerating Taiwan’s switch from coal to LNG-fuelled power generation. The Government is actively promoting new nuclear and LNG in an effort to decarbonise.

CPC Corp, Taiwan’s state-owned energy company, is preparing to ramp up LNG procurement through a new regas terminal in the Guantang Industrial Area. By importing more natural gas, utilities comply with the government’s policy to exit nuclear power by the end of this year.

The Guantang terminal, situated in the north of the island, will give CPC an additional option for importing LNG apart from its Taichung LNG terminal which is also being expanded.

The Taiwanese government wants to replace nuclear power with natural gas and renewables. To that end, the ratio of electricity generated from natural gas is meant to rise to 50%, the ministry of economic affairs said, specifying the mid-2025 as the deadline for the completion of the country’s nuclear exit.

Taipower seeks to adhere to the government’s Nuclear Free Homeland Policy and state-owned CPC Corp consequentially increased LNG imports since early summer last year, and recently got approval to build a new regas terminal at Kaohsiung. Unit 1 of Taipower’s last fully functional nuclear power plant was shuttered on July 27 2024, and the utility currently prepares to decommission Unit 2 in late August or September 2025. This will complete Taiwan’s nuclear exit.

Repowering Talin plant to replace lost nuclear capacity

By that time, however, the country will need to import substantially more LNG as gas-fuelled power station will need to be dispatched for mid-merit or even partly as a baseload power source. Repowering the Talin coal-fired power units to cleaner-burning natural gas is under consideration. Not only would this boost demand for LNG, combusting gas instead of thermal coal would also produce around 95,000 tonnes less sulphur oxide, 50,000 tonnes less nitrogen oxide, and 6.26 million tonnes less carbon dioxide annually.

CPC confirmed it will supply regasified LNG to the repowered Talin power plant at Kaohsiung Port. But the company was quick to add it would also supply gas to power industries, homes, other end-users, and source gas for storage to meet seasonal demand swings.

Plans to increase Taiwan's natural gas reserves from the current 7-day storage level to 14, have already been announced by the country’s Ministry of Economics in October last year. Greater gas storage requirements further add to rising demand for imported LNG. All these factors make the state gas buyer CPC Corp keep a vigilant eye on offerings from long-term LNG deliveries as well as on the spot market.

Taiwan is one of the few markets in Asia where LNG demand is rising with a steady and substantial pace. Over 4.4 GW of new gas-fuelled power generation capacity is scheduled to start operations, underpinning LNG imports, while Taiwan’s law-making court is reviewing if the runtime of the final 951 MW unit at Maanshan nuclear power station can be extended.

CNP Corp., the Taiwanese energy company, said it received its first cargo on November 26 from the Ichthys LNG export plant in the Northern Territory of Australia, as the Asian country claimed as part of China broadens its supply sources.

Taiwanese energy company CPC Corp. has signed a preliminary accord with US LNG producer Cheniere Energy for the supply of 2 million tonnes per annum for 25 years.

Papua New Guinea LNG plant stakeholder Santos of Australia said the facility and its associated infrastructure would be closed for around eight weeks to complete repairs and restore production following the February 26 earthquake in the Southern Highlands and Hela Provinces of the Oceania nation.