Taiwan is one of the most industrialized countries throughout the world. In the last decade or so, Taiwan is looking to become more energy efficient by utilizing renewable sources of energy. With a carbon dioxide emission level that is extremely high for this island country, it has become important now more than ever to encompass the ways of renewable energy in order to create a viable, sustainable future for the country.
1) 2009 Renewable Energy Bill. In 2009, the Taiwanese parliament passed the Renewable Energy Bill which calls for the installation of between 6,500 and 10,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity within a 20 year period. The bill is expected to bring in more than $900 million in renewable energy investment to the country. The bill states that the goal in Taiwan is to reduce carbon dioxide levels to its 2008 levels by the year 2016 and to its 2000 levels by 2025. Also in the bill is a number of pricing incentives for renewable energy developers and the loosening of regulations. The investment into renewable energy is said to create over 10,000 renewable energy jobs.
2) 2010 Increasing Renewable Energy Target. In 2010, the government in Taiwan increased its renewable energy target to have 16 percent of all installed power capacity generated from sources of renewable energy. This is in line with the increasing steps the government is taking to cut overall energy intensity by the year 2025. This is after evidence showing that the heavy industrialized country releases approximately three times more heat-trapping gasses per individual that the current world average.
3) Renewable Energy Businesses in Taiwan. As a major international industrial capital, Taiwan is home to numerous companies involved in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sector. This includes Ecomaa Lighting Inc., a company involved in the design and marketing of Green LED lighting products. There is also Motech Solar, the first pure-play c-Si solar cell manufacturer worldwide. They focus on research and development, manufacturing, marketing, and sales of top quality mono-crystalline silicon as well as multi-crystalline silicon solar cells. One last company is Sinotech Energy Development Co., Ltd. This company is responsible for the manufacturing of high efficiency wind turbines for global use.
4) Large Growth Planned for Solar Energy Sector. Within the next decade, Taiwan plans to increase the use of solar panels to increase the use of clean energy. Current solar panels generate five megawatts of energy, enough power for 500 buildings. However, by the year 2025, Taiwan wants to increase the megawatts to one-thousand. Wang Yunn-ming, the deputy head of the Taiwan Bureau of Energy said, “We hope to encourage the use of renewable energy with competitive prices.”
5) Investment of $1.74 Billion into Renewable Energy. At the end of 2010, the Taiwanese government made an announcement that they are going to invest $838 million in the promotion of renewable energy as well as another $635 investment into the research and development of renewable energy in the future. On top of this, the government is hoping to receive another $200 billion in private investment into the renewable energy sector. This investment is to assist in hitting the target to increase renewable energy usage by two percent every year until 2020.
6) Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy. The Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy was established in 2007 with the goal to continue the facilitation of research and development into sustainable energy as well as continue the promotion of sustainable energy infrastructure within the country. The institute focuses on four core topics – climate change, global warming, environmental protection, and sustainable energy. The institute continues “to work to raise the awareness of sustainable energy and related issues, establish an exchange platform for academic and technological groups relating to sustainable energy, facilitate publishing of sustainable energy related journals and specialist books, and raise the concern of the domestic industries for sustainable energy related issues.”
7) Better Place and Taiwan to Work together on the Electric Car Front. In January of 2011 Better Place LLC began talks with the Yulon Group in Taiwan to deploy the battery replacement station technology manufactured by Better Place in the country. Yulon Motor Co. Ltd. is the largest vehicle company in Taiwan and the agreement between the two organizations will include the deployment of a number of battery replacement stations as well as replaceable battery technology in the future electric car models being produced by Yulon. This is in line with Taiwan’s plan to have 160,000 electric cars in the country by 2015. Better Place is attracted to Taiwan’s geography because it is an island with a limited amount of area as well as a developed road perfect for energy production infrastructure.
8 ) General Plan for National Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction. In 2010, Taiwan created the ten objectives of the General Plan for National Energy Conservation and Carbon Reduction. These objectives are to assist in lowering carbon emissions by 2025 to 2000 levels. The objectives include boosting regulatory framework, development of a low-carbon emission industrial structure, build a low carbon emission community and society, convert the country to a low-carbon emissions energy source system, create more green buildings, promotion of energy saving and carbon-reducing public works projects, and increase carbon reduction and energy conservation education.
9) Number Two Spot for Photovoltaic Cell Output. Taiwan is listed as the second country with the largest photovoltaic cell output. When combined with China, the photovoltaic cell production accounts for 62.2 percent of the entire international market in 2010. Taiwan is the second largest producer of photovoltaic cells around the globe.
10) Taiwan Wind Power Alliance Being Created. In 2013 the Taiwan Wind Power Alliance is to start operation. It was first formed in 2010 with a number of firms looking to increase the use of wind power, including electro-mechanical, parts and components, and maritime engineering sectors. The alliance is said to produce the first offshore wind farm in Taiwan in Changhua Country, and will include 122 wind turbines.
Article by Shawn Lesser, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Atlanta-based Watershed Capital Group – an investment bank assisting sustainable fund and companies raise capital, perform acquisitions, and in other strategic financial decisions. He is also a Co-founder of the GCCA Global Cleantech Cluster Association ”The Global Voice of Cleantech”. He writes for various cleantech publications and is known as the David Letterman of Cleantech for his “Top 10″ series. He can be reached at shawn@watershedcapital.com
