The government plans to utilize 10,000 hectares of idle land to accelerate the development of the nation’s solar power industry, Minister of Economic Affairs Lee Chih-kung (李世光) said yesterday.
The plan is part of the ministry’s efforts to impress the public during the first 100 days of President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration, Lee told a press conference in Taipei.
The development of the solar power industry could be faster than other “green” energy industries because the industry already has established technologies and adequate funds for development, he said.
Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times
The Council of Agriculture has allocated 10,000 hectares of land for the development of solar energy across the nation, Lee said, adding that the council would unveil the sites soon.
The ministry would help organize the sites for local solar power companies to install facilities, he said, adding that the Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) would assist with the construction of grid networks at the designated locations.
“After everything is settled, the combined 10,000 hectares of land could have an installed capacity of more than 6,000 megawatts as part of the solar power system, which is able to generate more than 3 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per hour,” Lee said.
Lee said the ministry is also working to improve the air quality in central and southern Taiwan by reducing the emissions of PM2.5 — fine particulate matter measuring 2.5 micrometers or less — from Taipower’s fossil-fuel power stations.
The state-run utility is upgrading its power generation units of the fossil-fuel power station in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口) with ultra-supercritical technologies to raise the efficiency of electricity generation, which could lower the amount of PM2.5 emitted, Lee said.
The efficiency of the power generation units at the Linkou power station could drastically improve from the current 37 percent to 45 percent by next year, he said.
Lee reiterated that the ministry would not resume formal talks with Beijing over the cross-strait trade in goods agreement before a draft act on an oversight mechanism for cross-strait agreements obtains the Legislative Yuan’s approval.
The ministry does not have a time frame for restarting negotiations with China, he said.
Lee said that he is not concerned that Taiwan’s economy might deteriorate without a trade in goods agreement with China, as the economic challenges facing Taiwan are due to a sluggish global economy and weak domestic demand rather than the relationship with China.
“Taiwan’s exports have already contracted for 15 straight months. Even if Taiwan immediately improves its trade relationship with Beijing, Taiwan’s economic issues will not be solved,” he said.
When asked about the ministry’s stance on lifting a ban on Chinese investments in local IC designers, Lee said all foreign investments in Taiwan’s high-technology industry should be reviewed case by case.
The government would consider whether foreign investment, including Chinese capital, could remain in the advanced technologies in Taiwan while maintaining local companies’ competitiveness in the global market, he said.
Lee said the government would also consider if national security would be compromised by allowing foreign investment in Taiwan’s high-technology firms.
Meanwhile, Lee seemed to be optimistic about the new government's goal of transforming Taiwan into a nuclear-free area by 2025, saying that it can be achieved without the risk of electricity rationing.
"Between today and 2025, we have nine years to prepare," he said.
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