Taiwan boosting solar power systems

Date: 2016-09-08 Source: Department of Information Services, Executive Yuan

The government is pushing to make solar power systems more common in Taiwan, a move that Premier Lin Chuan said will diversify the nation’s energy portfolio, make the island more energy self-sufficient, and stimulate domestic demand and employment.

After hearing the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ report on its two-year photovoltaic promotion project, he instructed the agency to set up a single window for facilitating solar energy installations.

According to the ministry, the government plans to have renewable energy account for 20 percent of electricity generated by 2025, a target that will support safe energy, a green economy and environmental sustainability. In particular, the power capacity of solar installations will be increased to 20 gigawatts (GW), with 3 GW coming from rooftop-mounted panels and 17 GW from ground-mounted panels.

For the two-year photovoltaic project, the ministry plans to install 1.52 GW of solar power capacity from July 2016 to June 2018, which could attract up to NT$91.2 billion (US$2.9 billion) in investments and create 9,120 jobs a year. By the end of that period, all solar installations combined are expected to provide power capacity of 2.46 GW, generate 3.075 billion kilowatt-hours of power annually, and cut carbon emissions by nearly 1.6 million metric tons a year.

Of the 1.52 GW installed capacity, 910 megawatts (MW) will come from rooftop panels at factories, agricultural facilities and state-owned buildings. The remaining 610 MW will come from ground-level panels at salt-production land, severe land-subsidence areas, lakes and ponds, landfills and contaminated land.

To expedite the project, the ministry will set up a single window for promoting installations, take stock of available installation space, improve electric grid planning, attract more investments, and amend laws and regulations.