Solar power companies yesterday suggested that the government should relax restrictions related to the use of idle agricultural land to facilitate the development of the nation’s solar industry.
Taiwanese solar cell makers and solar wafer supplies rely on exports to generate profit, leaving them vulnerable to global trade disputes and political tussles, Neo Solar Power Corp (新日光能源) CEO Sam Hong (洪傳獻) said.
In an effort to the reduce the impact of negative factors overseas, domestic firms have turned to their home market to explore more stable growth and are urging the government to relax a number of regulations to help promote green energy in the nation.
Photo: CNA
“The government has imposed some restrictions on the use of land and the installation of rooftop solar panels. Deregulation would help boost demand [for solar panel installations],” said SEMI Taiwan PV Committee (台灣光電委員會) chairman Chang Ping-heng (張秉衡), who is also CEO of Motech Industries Inc (茂迪), the nation’s largest solar cell maker by capacity.
“It is inevitable that green energy will become a major power source over the next century, and it is undeniable that solar will be the next stellar industry,” Chang said.
By 2100, more than 60 percent of the world’s energy will be derived from solar power, up from 0.7 percent this year, Chang said, citing statistics from research house Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century.
“Taiwanese firms play a crucial part in the world’s solar supply chain in terms of its capacity market share,” Chang said.
Taiwanese solar companies employ advanced solar cell manufacturing technologies and saw their global market share by capacity rise from 17.5 percent in 2012 to 21.3 percent last year, he said.
However, before the solar power industry can take off, local firms need stronger support and more favorable policies from the government to facilitate their development, Chang added.
“A recent government initiative encouraging the installation of rooftop solar panels is not enough,” Hong said.
The government should relax rules on the use of idle agricultural land and allow farmers to install solar panels on underutilized farmland, which would help increase the contribution by green energy to the nation’s energy grid, as well as help boost demand for solar products, Hong said.
There are about 160,000 hectares of idle agricultural land nationwide, which could be used to generate as much as 16 gigawatts of solar power every day — the equivalent of the total capacity of nine nuclear power plants, he said.
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