Coal

Coal units are large thermal steam plants that take hours to start up and ramp slowly, making them best suited for steady baseload operation rather than flexible dispatch. Coal itself can be stockpiled for months, giving very stable fuel supply, but per-unit CO2 and air-pollutant emissions (SOx, NOx, particulates) are higher than gas.

Coal was historically Taiwan's largest source of baseload capacity, and the Taichung Power Plant was once among the largest coal-fired plants in the world by capacity. Air-pollution and decarbonization policy has since pushed toward reducing coal's share in favor of gas and renewables, with older units being retired or converted. Until new LNG terminal capacity comes fully online, coal remains an important baseload backstop.