The Council for Economic Planning and Development yesterday approved a NT$8 billion (US$260.6 million) proposal to develop Penghu into the nation’s first low--carbon emissions county over next five years.
On completion of the project in 2015, renewable energy will account for 56 percent of the total energy supply in Penghu, generating more electricity than is used by the entire island. Carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 50 percent compared with 2005.
“Penghu has great potential for exploring renewable energy as it boasts abundant natural resources such as wind power, solar power and tidal power,” a council official told a media briefing, adding that wind power generation offers most economic value.
Over the next five years, Taiwan Power Co (台電) plans to install wind power facilities with a capacity of 32 megawatts (MW) while the Penghu government will develop a wind power capacity of 64mw.
Given the higher costs of solar power generation, the council said that only 1.5mw of solar power capacity will be installed on the island, mostly located at major spots such as Magong Airport.
The promotion of green transportation would also be important, the council official said. The government plans to substitute half of the 15,000 existing gasoline-powered scooters in Penghu with electric ones by 2015, the official said.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The German laser and plasma generator company will expand its local services as its specialized offerings support Taiwan’s semiconductor industries Trumpf SE + Co KG, a global leader in supplying laser technology and plasma generators used in chip production, is expanding its investments in Taiwan in an effort to deeply integrate into the global semiconductor supply chain in the pursuit of growth. The company, headquartered in Ditzingen, Germany, has invested significantly in a newly inaugurated regional technical center for plasma generators in Taoyuan, its latest expansion in Taiwan after being engaged in various industries for more than 25 years. The center, the first of its kind Trumpf built outside Germany, aims to serve customers from Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia and South Korea,
Gasoline and diesel prices at domestic fuel stations are to fall NT$0.2 per liter this week, down for a second consecutive week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) announced yesterday. Effective today, gasoline prices at CPC and Formosa stations are to drop to NT$26.4, NT$27.9 and NT$29.9 per liter for 92, 95 and 98-octane unleaded gasoline respectively, the companies said in separate statements. The price of premium diesel is to fall to NT$24.8 per liter at CPC stations and NT$24.6 at Formosa pumps, they said. The price adjustments came even as international crude oil prices rose last week, as traders
SIZE MATTERS: TSMC started phasing out 8-inch wafer production last year, while Samsung is more aggressively retiring 8-inch capacity, TrendForce said Chipmakers are expected to raise prices of 8-inch wafers by up to 20 percent this year on concern over supply constraints as major contract chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Samsung Electronics Co gradually retire less advanced wafer capacity, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. It is the first significant across-the-board price hike since a global semiconductor correction in 2023, the Taipei-based market researcher said in a report. Global 8-inch wafer capacity slid 0.3 percent year-on-year last year, although 8-inch wafer prices still hovered at relatively stable levels throughout the year, TrendForce said. The downward trend is expected to continue this year,
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