State and Energy: The role of Taiwan government in the development of the energy industry after the Second World War (1945-1973)

• Main Authors: LIAO, FENG-FAN, 廖峰範
• Other Authors: 王憲群
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/kmx5gb

碩士 === 國立清華大學 === 歷史研究所 === 102 === How to ensure a steady supply of primary energy, coal and petroleum, has been a serious issue for the government. The thesis discusses how it had established different institutions to dominate the coal and industries in Taiwan. In the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century, coal was the major form of energy of Taiwan. Unfortunately, the island’s geological conditions limited the output and quality of coal. Its supply came under question in the 1960s and 70s when the coal-fired power plants of Taipower, the sole power provider in Taiwan, became the largest consumer of primary energy. Unavoidable, coal had to be replaced by oil. Furthermore, this thesis discusses the relationship between energy supply and the rise of the petrochemical industry in Taiwan. Not only did Chinese Petroleum Corporation, which has been monopolizing the oil industry in Taiwan, supply fuel to Taipower but also support development of the petrochemical industry by supplying naphtha as the basic material. Finally, this thesis argues that, for national security and industrialization, the government of Taiwan dominates the supply of primary energy to ensure a sufficient supply of electricity and liquid fuels by abandoning coal and establishing a state-owned petroleum enterprise to provide both fuels to the power plants and raw materials to the fledging petrochemical industry.