Taiwan is a place of innovation in connection to the environment when it comes to energy production. The island has gone beyond using only solar energy and wind turbine methods; they are also testing a plant that grows fish, supports a wetland, and combines hydrogen technology to generate power via a turbine, but Taiwan is quietly establishing a unique model that integrates clean energy and fundamentally changes the concept of how we consider the traditional power plants of today.

Taiwan’s energy crossroads from nuclear to new energy experiments

Taiwan’s energy future is complex, and there are not necessarily straightforward solutions. Initially, Taiwan was a low-to-moderate nuclear energy user but eventually transitioned away from utilizing the energy source, with this transition being completed just recently. The last operating nuclear facility (Maanshan) was decommissioned in 2025. 

Therefore, Taiwan finds itself at a crossroads, where it will now need to depend on other forms of energy in order to have a sufficient amount of energy to meet its future demands without relying on old-fashioned fossil fuels or going back to nuclear energy, which most people are still wary of.

Despite giving up on dreams, Taiwan is still pushing towards other options, particularly hydrogen, through bold and creative means. Taipower is working at the Hsinta Power Plant in Kaohsiung, where it has created a demonstration project using its gas turbine to produce electricity that contains a mixture of natural gas and 5% hydrogen.

The mystery of Hsinta’s ecological power experiment

Nestled between the Kaohsiung Harbor and the Hsinta Power Plant lies the Yongan Wetlands site by the Kaohsiung Harbor at the Hsinta Power Plant. On this wetland site live more than 160 species of birds, and it is accredited as an Environmental Education Facility. The Yongan Wetland demonstrates how industries like a power plant can coexist in harmony with nature to create a facility for education and life. 

Instead of being filled with smokestacks and turbines, the entire area appears to be a pristine natural environment with serene waterways and birdwatching stations nestled within reeds, like this unprecedented renewable energy plant, generating power and water.

Moreover, designers took bold steps to create a future-oriented view of Hsinta by conceptualizing the facility as a group of “jumping fish” shapes that emerge from wetland areas, thus implying that the facility has lifelike qualities; rather, it seems “alive” and filled with purpose.

How Taiwan combines fish, algae, and carbon for clean energy

As a creative cooperative effort, Taipower is collaborating with fishermen and scientists to develop a “shared ocean farm,” utilizing heated seawater from the power plant as a refuge for fish and other marine life. The microalgae growth from this project will take in CO₂ and serve as food for the fish, converting waste heat and carbon emissions from the power plant into living organisms and supporting an independent, self-sustained marine ecosystem.

The Fish Herding Masters project, which won the Presidential Hackathon in Taiwan, demonstrates the real-world applicability of a concept that combines intensive algae farming for carbon capture with recreational fishing. 

Hsinta’s experiment in balancing energy, people, and the environment

The Hsinta Experiment, located in Taiwan, represents balance, a living example of balance. Instead of producing only technology, it is home to ecosystems, fish farms, and educational facilities. The engineers at Taipower, along with birdwatchers/fishers, demonstrate that technology alone cannot achieve sustainability.

Taiwan takes an uncommon approach to energy net benefit on the world stage. Power from wetland, fish, and algae at Hsinta; innovation merged with nature creates a plant that is much more than just a green power provider; it’s really a powerful contradiction. Whether this project becomes the norm and continues to grow or remains a unique small project, it offers an opportunity to explore the possibility of energy having life in the future, just like this groundbreaking energy-producing power plant window.

Disclaimer: Our coverage of events affecting companies is purely informative and descriptive. Under no circumstances does it seek to promote an opinion or create a trend, nor can it be taken as investment advice or a recommendation of any kind.