A new regulation on energy development and management is expected to be implemented as part of the government’s efforts to achieve sustainable development, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official said yesterday.
The Energy Development Framework, which has been sent to the Cabinet for approval, is likely to take effect by the end of the year, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) told reporters, adding that more specific guidelines will be introduced in early next year.
“We’d like more enterprises to conserve energy and reduce their carbon emissions in a bid to create a sustainable environment,” Shih said.
QUOTA
He said that under the regulation, the ministry will set a quota for the country’s total energy supply based on what he termed “reasonable demand,” and arrive at estimates for short and long-term capacities in different areas.
If the regulation takes effect, investors will be obliged to obtain permission for any large-scale project entailing consumption of about 200 million kilowatt-hours or more a year, according to the ministry.
NOT THAT NEW
“In fact, we have already been doing this for some years, just not in written form,” Shih said.
In addition, the government will continue to promote energy efficiency, especially for high energy-consuming industries such as the cement, papermaking, steel and iron sectors.
A seminar will be held in Taipei today to explain the regulation, with another one to be held in Greater Kaohsiung tomorrow, in Greater Taichung on Tuesday and in Hualien on Wednesday, the ministry said.
CLOSED-DOOR MEETING
The ministry’s draft regulation on energy development came after high-ranking Cabinet officials met with industry representatives during a closed-door meeting on Saturday last week to exchange views on how to develop renewable energy and decrease Taiwan’s reliance on imported energy.
Since 99 percent of Taiwan’s energy supply is imported and individual power consumption is high, Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) said on Saturday in a speech at the Executive Yuan that Taiwan needs to come up with a comprehensive contingency plan.
While the Ministry of Finance has been considering imposing an energy tax to address overall concerns about the nation’s environmental sustainability, low-carbon targets, energy development policies and tax revenue, the government has not yet decided whether to levy such a tax.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”