The Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday it would continue to offer subsidies for the installation of new solar-powered water heaters after the number of households in the city depending on the heaters last year outnumbered that in other cities in Taiwan.
Lee Mu-sheng (李穆生), director-general of the city’s Environmental Protection Bureau, told reporters that the city government stipend policy had proven effective in encouraging residents to choose solar-powered water heaters and help save energy.
Statistics from the bureau showed that 3,081 residents filed an application for installation of the heaters last year, which had helped save 78.5 million liters of gasoline and cut 2,097 tonnes of carbon emissions within one year.
As per city regulations, a household of five can receive a subsidy of NT$7,500 from the city government and the same amount from the central government for installing a NT$45,000 water heater running on solar power, the bureau said.
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