TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Although the Taiwanese voted in a 2018 referendum to abolish the earlier deadline of 2025 to denuclearize the country, the island nation continues its march toward a greener future.
By 2025, Taiwan will generate 20 percent of its electricity through renewable energy, a goal which is backed by the Four-year Wind Power Promotion Plan and Two-year Solar PV Promotion Plan. Following these projects, the capacity of renewable power is expected to reach 26.9 gigawatts (GW) within five years.
In 2019, the country opened Asia's first commercial offshore wind field outside of Miaoli County. The 22 wind turbines have a total capacity of 120 megawatts (MW) and can support the daily needs of 120,000 to 130,000 households, according to Chen Chung-hsien (), director of the Electricity Division in Taiwan's Bureau of Energy (BOE).
The current wind farm is composed of wind turbines from Denmark, capital from Japan and Australia, and technical support from the U.K. The presence of foreign companies is necessary at this stage because this technology-intensive industry is entirely new to Taiwan.
"We lack the necessary technology, capital, and licensed experts for maintenance. A 100-MW wind farm costs almost NT$18 billion (US$593.46 million). The threshold is too high for indigenous companies, and local banks have no experience in offering loans of this magnitude for energy investment," Chen explained.
The capacity of the wind farm is projected to reach 5.7 GW by 2025, accounting for 8.4 percent of domestic renewable energy. "With growing experience and continuous training, we believe Taiwanese firms can dominate the NT$600 billion domestic market for wind farm operation and maintenance within 5 years," Chen added.
Even though solar energy is a mature industry in Taiwan, the country's limited land still hinders its development. Currently, its central and southern counties, such as Kaoshiung and Pingtung, have more than 500 MW of solar power capacity on average; policies like the Green Energy Roofs project and the Photovoltaic Farming project are the driving force behind the growth.
Based on the principle of "Zero funding from the public and zero subsidies from the government," the local authorities match qualified operators with households willing to provide rooftops for installation. The operators will be guaranteed a feed-in tariff (FIT) fixed for 20 years from the installation date, while the homeowners receive 10 percent of the tariff and a direct power supply.
However, despite the government's continuous effort to develop renewable energy, Taiwan's electricity prices do not seem to reflect the country's extreme dependence on imported energy. Nor do they encourage energy-saving.
According to a report from GlobalPetrolPrices, the island nation's electricity prices were pegged at US$0.09 kilowatts-per-hour (kWh) in June 2019, lower than Japan's US$0.27. That country had 75 percent of its energy coming from fossil fuels in 2019 while Taiwan had 77.4 percent.
Unlike some European countries, such as Germany, which redistributesthe tariffsto the publictoencouragerenewable energy, Taiwan bases its electricity prices primarily on the cost of power generation.
"To ensure households and businesses have stable and cheap electricity is our greatest concern," said Wu Chih-wei (), director of the Electricity Division at the BOE. Even though developing renewable energy is one of the bureau's priorities, raising electricity prices is not seen as a solution because of the ripple effect on the price of goods across the economy.
Starting from February, all enterprises in Taiwan that establish a consumption contract of over 5 MW with the Taiwan Power Company need to have 10 percent of their electricity coming from renewable energy within five years. These enterprises, across the fossil fuel, steel, and electronics-manufacturing industries use up to 26.8 percent of the electricity in Taiwan.
All these developments prove again that the green economy is more than just environmentalist propaganda. "After we hit the target in 2025, there will be an additional 1 GW of capacity developed every year until 2035 in our offshore wind fields. Investments of NT$1 trillion as well as 20,000 new jobs are to be expected," Chen concluded.
Renewable energy in Taiwan contributed to 8.7% of national electricity generation as of end of 2013.[1] The total installed capacity of renewable energy in Taiwan by the end of 2013 was 3.76 GW.[2][3]
As of 2021, Taiwan had set a target to generate 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2025, an increase from the 5% achieved in 2020. This plan is part of a broader policy to reduce coal usage, enhance the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and transition towards a "nuclear-free homeland." The strategy includes adding 5.7 GW of offshore wind power and increasing solar energy capacity to 20 GW by 2025.[4]
In November 2003, the government has guaranteed the price of electricity generated from renewable energy.[5] In 2009, the government passed the Renewable Energy Development Act (REDA) aiming to increase the installed renewable energy capacity in Taiwan to 9.95 GW by 2030.[3] Feed-in tariff regulated by REDA applies to solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, biomass and hydro energy.
In 2012, the Million Rooftop Photo Voltaic and Thousand Wind Turbines programs were initiated. In 2014, the Rising Green Energy Industry Program was also initiated.[6]
A new law regarding greenhouse gas reduction and management act was ratified by the Legislative Yuan on 15 June 2015 and promulgated by President Ma Ying-jeou on 1 July 2015 to provide the government with legal basis for taking action against climate change. The measures, ranging from inventory, registration, inspection, management, efficiency standards and cap and trade system, call for gradual, phased process with control targets every five years.[7]
President-elect Tsai Ing-wen said in January 2015 that her party aimed to phase out nuclear power in Taiwan by 2025 and to increase the share of renewable energy generation to 20% by that year.[8][6]
In 31, December, 2020, "Regulations for the Management of Setting up Renewable Energy Power Generation Equipment of Power Users above a Certain Contract Capacity" was launched as the first regulations practicalising the implementation of renewable infrastructure in the specific building development type.[11]
The Statute for Renewable Energy Development in Taiwan, as detailed by the International Energy Agency (IEA), represents the government''s efforts to transform its energy sector. This statute outlines targets, striving for 8% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025 and the installation of 6,500 to 10,000 MW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. The targeted energy sources encompass a range including solar, geothermal, ocean energies, wind power, biofuels, and renewable hydrogen power.[12]
Biogas is widespread in the Taiwanese agricultural industry with 70-80% of large livestock operations having a biogas system. These convert agricultural waste into electricity or heat.[13]
At the end of 2005, the total installed capacity of hydropower in Taiwan was 4,539.9 MW, of which 2,602 MW came from pumped-storage hydroelectricity. Taiwan''s largest hydro power plant is the Mingtan Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant opened in 1995. The plant is located in Shuili Township, Nantou County with a capacity of 1,602 MW, acting as the pump-storage hydroelectricity source.
In 2013, the capacity factor of solar power in Taiwan was 14%. The total photovoltaic power installed as of 2016 was more than 1 GW over an area of 160 km2, accounting for 0.42% of the power generation in Taiwan.[15][16][17]
The government has built a photovoltaic power generation with a total power output of 189,492 kWh per year in Taiping Island, Cijin District, Kaohsiung. The project was divided into two phases, in which the first phase was completed in December 2011 and the second one in December 2014. The project was funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs.[18]
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