Premier William Lai (賴清德) yesterday told the Cabinet to provide more accurate forecasts and proposals before its scheduled announcement next week of a set of policies to tackle the electricity shortage in the industrial sector.
Lai convened a Cabinet meeting yesterday to discuss renewable energy options and the policy announced on Wednesday to promote rooftop solar systems, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) said.
Ministries and Cabinet agencies were told to propose renewable generation plans to achieve the goal of boosting the share of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2025, Hsu said.
The policies to be announced on Wednesday next week are part of a package aimed at resolving five shortages facing the industrial sector: power, water, land, workforce and skilled workers.
During yesterday’s meeting, the Bureau of Energy presented its stimulus plan aimed at encouraging the public and businesses to construct rooftop solar systems to increase the solar power generation capacity by offering subsidies to households that would cover 40 percent of construction costs and 100 percent of design costs.
The two-year subsidy would begin next year, the bureau said.
The bureau also presented a review of the nation’s wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower generation capacity and operating reserve, Hsu said.
Lai told the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taiwan Power Co to determine how much renewable power generation capacity can actually be obtained and how much capacity is needed for the nation to achieve the goal of raising the renewable energy portion of its electricity supply to 20 percent by 2025 when the nation has planned to phase out nuclear power, Hsu said.
Solar, wind and hydro power generation can often be restricted by seasonal and climate factors, while major technological breakthroughs are needed to effectively tap the geothermal heat.
Lai also asked the ministry and the bureau to provide an accurate estimate of the rooftop solar system subsidy program, its efficiency and budgeting, with the ministry ordered to announce a complete subsidy procedure this week.
The economics ministry was also asked to cooperate with the Ministry of Science and Technology in developing a plan to encourage businesses in industrial parks and science parks nationwide to install solar-panel systems on their roofs.
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