Carbon continuity: explaining the changing energy mix of Taiwan’s power system after the Second World War

This dissertation explores Taiwan' transition from a hydro-based power system to one heavily reliant on coal, oil, and natural gas after the Second World War. It focuses on the dialogues among state-owned utility engineers and how they defined an "optimal energy mix" to align with national economic, political, and societal goals during critical periods, such as the doubted accessibility of domestic coal in the 1960s, the 1970s oil crises, and the 1980s democratization. Taiwan's carbon dependency was then gradually consolidated with the formation of the concentration and polarization of its power consumption centers interconnected with the adjacent petrochemical industries along the fuel infrastructure. Such a path dependency yields substantial impacts and structural limits on the current renewable transition in Taiwan. Taking a long-range perspective, instead of viewing the energy transition as a radical departure from the nation's carbon-intensive past, offers valuable insights into the continuities and challenges shaping Taiwan's journey toward a Net-Zero future.