Economy

CEPD unveils plans to develop solar energy

• Publication Date：07/22/2010
• Source： Taiwan Today

The government has decided to lend its support to the photovoltaic industry in preference over all other forms of alternative energy, the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development said in a press release July 21.

The council has already mapped out several measures designed to help develop the emerging photovoltaic industry, the statement continued.

Some of these measures include attracting more investment in the production of silicon materials, increasing the power efficiency of locally produced solar cells and modules, facilitating the establishment of large-scale PV plants and initiating cross-strait cooperation to obtain a larger share of the global market.

To improve the solar-energy generating capability of local firms, the CEPD will work with the government of the southern-most county of Pingtung to set up a solar panel “demonstration zone” in its Donggang, Linbian and Jiadong townships.

An unnamed CEPD official pointed out that the abundant sunshine of southern Taiwan makes the chosen areas an ideal location to set up solar power generation facilities.

“While Taiwan is a major producer of PV cell panels in the world, very few such panels have been set up on the island,” the official said.

“By creating a dedicated zone for installing power generation facilities, we hope to encourage more firms to set up solar power plants in Taiwan,” he pointed out, adding that the Renewable Energy Development Act, enacted in early July this year, also encourages such efforts.

Industry statistics showed that the output of Taiwan’s solar energy sector amounted to NT$101.1 billion (US$3.1 billion) in 2008. This figure is expected to quadruple to NT$450 billion by 2015 with a projected 15-percent global market share, the CEPD pointed out.

In a breakdown of the local sector’s output, cell panels made up 79 percent, followed by silicon materials at 14 percent, cell modules at 5.9 percent and systems at 0.6 percent.

With an output of 850 megawatts in 2008, Taiwan ranked fourth in the world in terms of panel production. The nation accounted for 12 percent of the global market in value terms, with over 70 percent of its output going to Germany and Spain.

Write to Meg Chang at meg.chang@mail.gio.gov.tw