TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) on Wednesday criticized Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) over disputes surrounding a planned electrical substation intended to support the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park, the future site of Nvidia’s overseas headquarters.
Taipower said Tuesday that the technology park would require a new substation to handle a larger-than-expected increase in electricity demand, per NOWNews. It warned that disagreements with the Taipei City Government could delay construction and affect operations at Nvidia’s future headquarters.
The dispute centers on whether the facility should be built underground or above ground. Taipei City officials support underground construction, while Taipower favors an above-ground design, citing flood risks and shorter construction times.
Taipower said it would build a temporary substation to meet the park’s immediate power needs, per China Times.
Commenting on the controversy, Shen argued that the main challenge facing the technology park was grid transmission capacity rather than Taiwan’s overall power generation capacity, per SETN. He also criticized Chiang for focusing on attacks against Taiwan’s energy policy, saying the energy policies implemented under former President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) were worse than those under the DPP administration, per China Times.
DPP Spokesperson Wu Cheng (吳崢) echoed Shen’s criticism, accusing the Taipei City Government of failing to actively advance the substation project until recently, per UDN. Wu said DPP Legislator Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤) had been holding regular meetings with Taipower for more than a year and added that Shen had also discussed the issue with Taipower.
Wu argued that the real issue was Chiang’s inability to complete the substation project efficiently.
Taipei Deputy Spokesperson Wei Wen-hsuan (魏汶萱) rejected the criticism, saying the city government had maintained close communication with Taipower throughout the planning process, per UDN.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Chang Szu-kang (張斯綱) also disputed the DPP’s characterization of the conflict, per Liberty Times. He said Taipower only submitted plans for above-ground construction in 2025 despite Taipei’s urban planning requirements already prioritizing underground substations.
Chang added that most recent Taipower substations in Taipei had been constructed underground. Referencing the long-running controversy surrounding the Songhu substation project, KMT Taipei City Councilor Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧) urged Taipower to explain the additional costs and technical concerns associated with underground construction in greater detail, per UDN.
Yu also called on Taipower to improve communication with residents instead of, in her words, pressuring the public with fears of potential power shortages. She noted that after more than 20 years of disputes with local residents, Taipower ultimately agreed to build the Songhu substation underground.
The Songhu substation project experienced more than two decades of delays after site surveys began in 2004, per Newtalk. Residents had raised concerns about possible health effects from electromagnetic waves and repeatedly called on Taipower to provide more information addressing those fears, per Liberty Times.
