Director of the Energy Security and Climate Resilience Program at DSET, Dr. Tsaiying Lu, participated in the Energy and Critical Infrastructure session at the Resilient Taiwan for Sustainable Democracy International Forum on September 20.
Speaking at the opening of the Forum, President Lai highlighted “extreme climate-related disasters” and “the expansionary ambitions of authoritarian regimes” as the two major challenges confronting Taiwan and the world. These themes are also central to DSET’s Energy Security and Climate Resilience research program.
The Energy and Critical Infrastructure session began with a keynote presentation from Wen-Sheng Tseng (曾文生), Chairman of Taiwan Power Company (TPC), who shared TPC’s strategies for strengthening Taiwan’s energy resilience. The subsequent panel discussion featured Dr. Tsaiying Lu, Wen-Sheng Tseng, Ian Satchwell, Senior Research Fellow at ASPI, and Patrick Kong, Chief Financial Advisor from GE Verona Asia.
Ian Satchwell opened the discussion with his analysis of Australia’s efforts to scale up renewable energy and the resulting grid stability challenges, stressing that this is a common issue for both Australia and Taiwan as maritime nations. The panellists widely agreed that natural gas remains an indispensable support for the energy transition. Dr. Lu further emphasized that the resilience of Taiwan’s LNG supplies depends on public-private sector cooperation, information sharing with maritime insurers, and the advancement of cargo swapping mechanisms.
On the issue of submarine cable protection, the panellists underscored the dual importance of deterrence and defense. Dr. Lu presented DSET’s research on both telecom and power submarine cables, noting the unique vulnerability of power cables: unlike communication cables, they lack redundancy, with repair potentially taking up to six months due to the scarcity of specialized vessels and equipment. Patrick echoed this point, highlighting the need for Taiwan to build its own repair capacity. Ian shared how Australia is investing heavily in sea lane protection strategies to safeguard submarine cables and LNG shipping routes, while Wen-Sheng stressed the necessity of international legal frameworks to address scenarios of deliberate sabotage.
Reflecting on lessons from Ukraine, Patrick shared GE Verona’s collaboration with government authorities, including providing energy crisis response consultation and deploying emergency equipment such as TM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines. He also recognized Taiwan’s strong manufacturing and engineering capacity, noting that with prior planning and drills, Taiwan could produce and deploy the required response equipment.
Tsaiying added that Ukraine’s experience shows that initial attacks often target grid nodes and nuclear power plant connections, highlighting the importance of diversified and layered protection. Dr. Lu urged Taiwan to continue strengthening the defense of substations, pipelines, and refineries against both physical and cyber threats.
