As Taiwan continues on its path of economic development, it is faced with two problems regarding energy. The first is its overdependence on foreign sources for its energy needs; the second, its high levels of carbon emissions. Both difficulties have a common solution: green energy.
Half a century ago, the nation could still rely to some extent on its own coal and natural gas to fulfill its energy requirements, said Liang Chi-yuan, minister without portfolio and convener of the Committee for the Promotion of Energy Conservation. But as these natural resources, which were never abundant to begin with, have been depleted, Taiwan is almost at the mercy of foreign energy suppliers.
“Around the 1980s, 86.2 percent of all energy consumed in Taiwan was imported,” Liang explained. “The figure increased to 95.8 percent in 1990, and now more than 99 percent of our energy resources come from abroad.” According to a statistics, most crude oil Taiwan uses comes from Middle East countries, while coals were imported from Australia and natural gas from Indonesia.
Examining the issue via a metric known as the “the concentration of energy supply”–the higher the score, the more dependent a nation is on a limited range of energy sources—the island’s dependency on imported energy sources is even more alarming. “Taiwan’s concentration of energy supply is 60, a rather high number compared to Japan’s 54.4 and the European Union’s, which is around 30,” Liang added.
Although the island has managed to do fairly well thus far by importing energy sources, changing circumstances make high dependency on foreign sources inadvisable. As carbon emissions are having a profound and perhaps irreversible effect on the environment, nations throughout the world have been imposing ever stricter carbon reduction requirements, not only on themselves, but wherever possible on other states as well, and sooner or later Taiwan will be asked to reduce its CO2 emission levels.
As present, more than 70 percent of Taiwan’s power is generated through the burning of coal or gas, both of which contribute to the emission of carbon dioxide, the most common form of green house gas.
This means, in turn, that the nation’s energy use is still far from being efficient. As Liang explains, “Currently in Taiwan, for each kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, 0.63 kilogram of carbon dioxide is emitted, which is more than Japan’s 0.42 kilogram.”
The issue has the attention of the highest levels of government. President Ma Ying-jeou has pledged to the world that by 2020 Taiwan will have cut its CO2 emissions to 2005 levels, and that by 2025 the emission levels will have been further reduced to 2000 levels.
The only way to achieve this goal is a revolution in the way that the nation produces energy. “Taiwan’s entire energy structure has to change,” noted Liang, who adds that to effect these changes the government is pursuing both a short- and long-term strategy.
Nuclear power plants, though anathema to some, are a relatively clean and stable way of generating energy, Liang pointed out. “That is why the government has restarted the construction of the nation’s fourth nuclear power plant.” When it begins operations—the target date is December 2011—the plant will generate very little greenhouse gases, and continue to be a steady and stable source of energy.
In the long run, though, the nation must come to rely more on green energy. Experts such as Liang suggest that the government has a vital role to play in this regard, and that whatever investments the government makes now will be repaid manifold in the future.
In other words, a virtuous cycle could be created with government help. If the government supports basic research and development in renewable energy, the nation’s dynamic and enterprising private sector will be able to make use of the knowledge to create advanced technology. This would generate income for the companies and for the state’s coffers as well.
As an example of how this process might work in practice, Wu Tsai-yi, president of the Taiwan Research Institute, points to a success story involving Taiwan-based Lite-on Technology Corp. and Sun Well Solar Corp., a subsidiary of CMC Magnetics Corp.
A major photovoltaic (PV) solution provider, Lite-on partnered with silicon thin-film PV modules manufacturer Sun Well in 2009 to build over 20 agricultural solar greenhouses across the Chinese provinces of Jiangsu and Jiangxi.
With the solar panels, each greenhouse is capable of generating 20 kilowatts of electricity per day. At the same time, the panels allow enough daylight to get through for vegetables to grow properly.
This successful partnership has caught the attention of the Chinese government, which plans to set up more such greenhouses in the near future. “It has established a model for other Taiwan-based optoelectronics companies,” Wu said.
While traditional solar panels are thick and pitch-black, thin-film PV modules are both thin and transparent. This means the modules could be installed not only on rooftops, but also on the walls of buildings, metro stations, or any place where there is a flat surface and exposure to sunlight.
The same technology cannot be used in Taiwan at the moment, however, because the densely populated island “does not have enough space to place the panels,” Wu explained. It is indeed ironic that though Taiwan is already a leader in solar-panel technology, “90 percent of its solar technology is for use outside of the island,” Liang noted.
Both Liang and Wu agree sooner or later the private and public sector will find some sort of renewable energy that can satisfy the nation’s energy requirements. Perhaps the profits made in renewable energy markets overseas can be reinvested in Taiwan to develop this new technology,
A second virtuous cycle could also be created, one that could eventually help break Taiwan’s reliance on foreign energy suppliers. As the cost of green energy becomes cheaper, they said, more people will come to demand it; and as demand increases, more and more companies will come to help supply this need, which will help lower related energy prices further.
“A bright future is still ahead for Taiwan,” a hopeful Wu said, “provided that the government and the private sector as a whole works toward a common goal.” (HZW)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw