Taiwan’s production value in the green energy sector is forecast to hit NT$1.15 trillion (US$35.9 billion) by 2015, an official in charge of energy affairs said yesterday.
Speaking at a seminar in Taipei on the era of low carbon emissions, Wang Yun-ming (王運銘), deputy director-general of the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy, said “green investment” now dominated the economic development agendas of many countries.
He cited statistics compiled by the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp as saying that the US government had set aside US$67.7 billion in its economic stimulus measures for developing clean and green energy, while the EU has committed 105 billion euros (US$146.97 billion) by 2013 and South Korea 50 trillion won (US$43.5 billion) over the next four years. Japan has also been considering a large budget for green energy.
Taiwan, for its part, will focus on solar power, light-emitting-diode lighting, wind power, bio-energy, fuel cells, energy information communication technology and electric vehicles, he said.
He said the production value of the local green energy sector will have increased from NT$160 billion last year to NT$1.15 trillion by 2015, attracting NT$200 billion in private investment and creating 110,000 jobs,
By that time, Wang said, with its backbone industries having shifted to areas featuring low-carbon emissions and high added value, Taiwan will be one of the leading countries in new energy technology development and production.
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