TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taipei City Government and Taipower reached a compromise Wednesday on construction of a substation tied to Nvidia’s future headquarters, agreeing on a plan featuring above-ground facilities with underground transformers.
The Wenlin substation is intended to serve the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park, the future site of Nvidia’s overseas headquarters, per UDN. Taipei City Government had initially requested a fully underground facility, while Taipower proposed an above-ground design.
Taipei City Government welcomed Taipower’s decision to place the transformers underground, saying the arrangement would help alleviate concerns about possible electromagnetic interference affecting nearby schools. Taipower, meanwhile, thanked the city government for allowing most of the facility to remain above ground, saying the design would shorten construction time and improve safety during the building process, per CNA.
The economic ministry said the compromise reflected lessons learned from the long-delayed Songhu substation project, per Rti. The Songhu facility, delayed for more than 20 years, received a construction permit in 2023 and is expected to be completed by 2029, per CNA.
DPP Legislator Wu Szu-yao (吳思瑤), who is DPP Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) campaign manager, said the Wenlin substation project advanced because of efforts by her and Shen, per Liberty Times. She accused the Taipei City Government of obstructing the project and said Shen had additional plans to improve the surrounding development.
Shen echoed Wu’s criticism, saying the city government had “quickly caved and abandoned its previous insistence,” per Liberty Times. Shen and Wu are scheduled to visit the project site on Thursday alongside DPP city councilors, central government officials, Taipower representatives, and Taipei City Government officials.
KMT Taipei City Councilor Chang Szu-kang (張斯綱) rejected the DPP’s characterization of events, noting that Taipower ultimately agreed to place the transformers underground in the revised proposal, per China Times. He argued that the city government had successfully negotiated a final plan more aligned with residents' concerns.
Chang previously said the Taipei City Government had already expressed a policy preference for all future substations to be built underground.
Meanwhile, DPP Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) argued that the city’s underground-substation policy was advisory rather than mandatory and could be adjusted based on circumstances, per Liberty Times. She said the urgency and importance of the project justified the compromise and criticized the city government for what she described as poor communication with Taipower.
Lin also noted that the temporary substation planned for the site would still be above ground, arguing that this undermined the city government’s earlier insistence on underground construction. She added that the local borough chief was unaware of the project until after the city accepted Taipower’s latest proposal.
Responding to Lin’s criticism, Taipei City Government said it had consistently asked Taipower to communicate with local communities regarding major substation projects, per Liberty Times. The city added that Taipower first submitted the proposal in June 2025 and said it would formally request additional public outreach efforts.
