The government aims to boost the nation’s photovoltaics installed capacity to 6.5GW by the end of next year, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday.
The target was set for the second stage of the “two-year photovoltaic energy development plan,” with the first stage having concluded last year, Su said.
Photovoltaics play a vital role in the nation’s efforts to realize the goal of boosting the ratio of renewable energy in the nation’s energy mix to 20 percent by 2025.
If the target is reached, it would help to stabilize the nation’s energy supply, reduce its reliance on imported energy and spur industrial growth, Su said.
The government plans to achieve this goal by having large companies in industrial parks, science parks and export processing zones install solar panels on the roofs of their premises, Bureau of Energy Director Yu Chen-wei (游振偉) said.
It plans to collaborate with animal and fish farms to establish solar power generation facilities, as well as subsidize local governments’ policies to promote public and private photovoltaic power generation facilities, Yu said.
As of last year, the nation’s photovoltaic installed capacity reached 2.8GW, Yu said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs expects to add another 1.5GW by the end of this year and another 2.2GW next year, he said.
Quoting Su, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said it was “exhilarating” that the nation’s solar energy supply on Sept. 2 reached a record high of more than 2GW — equivalent to 5.8 percent of the nation’s total energy supply.
It also exceeded the energy supply of the two reactors at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) or the two units at the Ma-anshan (馬鞍山) Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, she quoted Su as saying, adding that the figure was a milestone in the development of photovoltaics.
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said that the nation’s power consumption hit a record of 37.38 million kilowatt-hour on July 7.
Photovoltaics contributed a record 4.8 percent to overall power supply that day, he said.
The ministry is confident that the supply of solar energy would reach new highs next year, he said.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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