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April 10, 2025 | China Times News Network – Compiled by Chia-Hung Wei

Lawton Liao, General Manager of ICP, was invited to speak at the 5th ESG Sustainable Taiwan International Summit, where he delivered a keynote titled “Energy Action: Accelerating Taiwan’s Low-Carbon Transition.” In his presentation, Liao addressed the challenges enterprises face in energy transition, along with strategies and innovative solutions to overcome them.Photo: Courtesy of ICP

Rising Electricity Demand Makes Energy Transition Imperative

With the rapid development of industries, AI technologies, semiconductor applications, and the growing adoption of electric vehicles and data centers, global electricity demand continues to surge. Merely changing how electricity is generated is no longer sufficient — a comprehensive energy transition for existing power grids has become essential.

Over the past few years, ICP has assisted Taiwan Power Company in designing and completing 33 smart substations. In the offshore wind sector, ICP stands out as the only company in Taiwan capable of integrating all complex systems — including onshore substations, central control systems, and cybersecurity — demonstrating its ability to address the challenges, responses, and innovative solutions enterprises face in energy transition.

As a result, ICP General Manager Lawton Liao was recently invited to speak at the 5th ESG Sustainable Taiwan International Summit, alongside Taiwan Stock Exchange Chairman Hsiu-Ming Lin and Taiwan Local Revitalization Foundation Chairwoman Mei-Ling Chen, where he shared ICP’s innovations and practices in the field of energy IoT.

Next-Generation Power Grid: Digitalized, Integrated, and Intelligent

Lawton Liao explained that traditional power grids are centralized and one-directional. In the past, Taiwan required only around 20 power plants to meet the electricity needs of the entire island. However, with the increasing integration of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, the future may require more than 100,000 power generation sites of various sizes.

Due to the intermittent, unstable, and uncontrollable nature of solar and wind energy, these numerous generation sites can be likened to “100,000 unruly children” — making them extremely difficult to manage. Therefore, building the next-generation power grid must rely on digitalization, integration, and intelligent technologies to ensure effective and resilient energy management.

AI-Integrated Energy IoT Services Deliver Remarkable Results

Lawton Liao emphasized that since its founding in 2017, ICP has focused on integrated services for energy IoT technologies. From system design, control and protection, communication and cybersecurity, software development, panel manufacturing, to construction and maintenance, ICP offers comprehensive one-stop solutions. This has enabled the company to accumulate and develop unique value in the energy industry — attracting major clients such as Taiwan Power Company and participating in numerous offshore wind, solar, and energy storage projects.

In particular, ICP has deep expertise in power automation and substation automation, with extensive experience across renewable energy sectors including energy storage, EV charging stations, solar power, and offshore wind. In recent years, ICP has successfully applied AI optimization technologies to advance energy IoT innovations such as microgrids, virtual power plants, and green power trading platforms — achieving significant results.

AI Empowers Energy Transition by Solving Key Challenges

The world is currently at a critical juncture in energy transition, with green energy becoming the mainstream driver of future economic development. In Taiwan, the government is actively promoting energy transition to enhance energy independence and foster the growth of emerging green energy industries. Among these efforts, AI technologies play a vital role by accurately forecasting corporate energy demand, enabling flexible resource allocation and improved energy efficiency — all of which are crucial to achieving the 2050 net-zero emissions target.

However, energy transition is no easy task. ICP points out that traditional power systems struggle to cope with the decentralized and intermittent nature of renewable energy. Moreover, enterprises pursuing sustainability often face challenges such as rising costs and technical barriers. Understanding these pain points, ICP leverages its deep expertise in grid transformation and innovative technologies to actively support businesses in advancing their energy transition efforts.

iVPP Empowers Corporate Sustainability and Unlocks New Revenue Streams

ICP’s iVPP platform includes a green power matching management system and boasts Taiwan’s most abundant supply of 1.4GW in green electricity. This enables enterprises to efficiently match and procure renewable energy to meet their sustainability needs, while also optimizing energy management and carbon inventory processes. Lawton Liao emphasized that iVPP also leverages new policies from Taiwan Power Company to maximize the benefits of energy storage systems.

He explained that through AI-powered control and scheduling, enterprises can not only achieve their sustainability transformation goals but also gain tangible economic returns. For example, Taiwan Power Company’s new “behind-the-meter energy storage” time-of-use pricing for high-voltage industrial users sets peak-hour electricity rates at over NT$10 per kWh, while off-peak rates are around NT$2 — a fourfold difference. This creates strong financial incentives for companies to install behind-the-meter energy storage systems.

Lawton further emphasized that beyond system installation, ICP uses AI to optimize electricity usage plans, enabling peak-shaving and load-shifting strategies for energy arbitrage. This not only significantly reduces energy costs but also allows enterprises to participate in Taiwan Power’s ancillary services and demand response programs — generating new revenue streams.

Overcoming Energy Transition Challenges to Build a Sustainable and Prosperous Taiwan

Positioning itself as an integration expert in the new energy era, ICP is committed to helping enterprises overcome the challenges of energy transition. Through smart grid solutions and its innovative iVPP intelligent cloud-based virtual power plant, ICP fully supports businesses in pursuing green economic growth — paving the way for a more sustainable and prosperous Taiwan.