Thanks to the government's efforts to promote renewable energy, the installation density of solar water heaters in Taiwan is now the third-highest in the world, Vice Economics Minister Hou Ho-shong (侯和雄) said yesterday.
Addressing a seminar held by the Chunghua Institution for Economic Research on the impact of soaring oil prices on the economy, Hou pointed out that the government is trying to work out plans for energy conservation and the enhancement of energy efficiency to cope with high oil prices.
These include a plan to amend the Energy Management Law (能源管理法) to regulate energy efficiency and to enact a renewable energy development law with the goal of seeing renewable energy generation reach 5,130 megawatts, or 10 percent of the total capacity generated by the country's power stations, by 2010, Hou said.
Hou noted that the government is promoting the use of various renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, solar thermal, biomass energy and geothermal energy.
The government is also planning to set up a solar-heated indoor swimming pool this year, Hou said.
The government has subsidized the installation of 74 solar power systems with a total generation capacity of 647 kilowatts, including one at the Presidential Office, and is carrying out a "solar-powered city" project in Tainan County, according to Hou.
Also, the government is expected to complete the country's first geothermal power plant in Ilan County in 2007, he said.
Meanwhile, Hou said, the government is planning to replace all the traffic lights around the country with energy-conserving light emitting diodes next year.
With international oil prices rising to as high as US$70 per barrel in August and fluctuating around US$57 per barrel at present, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Finance have suggested that the Cabinet lower the taxes on gasoline, diesel and fuel oil by 25 percent until Dec. 31 in an effort to stabilize domestic consumer prices, he said.
RUN IT BACK: A succesful first project working with hyperscalers to design chips encouraged MediaTek to start a second project, aiming to hit stride in 2028 MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest smartphone chip supplier, yesterday said it is engaging a second hyperscaler to help design artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators used in data centers following a similar project expected to generate revenue streams soon. The first AI accelerator project is to bring in US$1 billion revenue next year and several billion US dollars more in 2027, MediaTek chief executive officer Rick Tsai (蔡力行) told a virtual investor conference yesterday. The second AI accelerator project is expected to contribute to revenue beginning in 2028, Tsai said. MediaTek yesterday raised its revenue forecast for the global AI accelerator used
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Dutch chipmaker Nexperia BV’s China unit yesterday said that it had established sufficient inventories of finished goods and works-in-progress, and that its supply chain remained secure and stable after its parent halted wafer supplies. The Dutch company suspended supplies of wafers to its Chinese assembly plant a week ago, calling it “a direct consequence of the local management’s recent failure to comply with the agreed contractual payment terms,” Reuters reported on Friday last week. Its China unit called Nexperia’s suspension “unilateral” and “extremely irresponsible,” adding that the Dutch parent’s claim about contractual payment was “misleading and highly deceptive,” according to a statement
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