The nation’s two top contract chipmakers expressed confidence about a planned surcharge on big water users, citing conservation measures the firms have taken over many years, they said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) said they have achieved positive results in managing risks to water resources.
UMC has developed conservation processes in addition to efficient use of water during production to keep consumption at a minimum.
TSMC has focused on recycling water in its production processes and for cooling, it said, adding that it now recycles about 85 percent of the wastewater its plants generate, saving more than 37 million cubic meters of water a year.
UMC said water recycling saves 24.91 million cubic meters a year.
Together, the Hsinchu-based firms conserve enough water to fill the Baoshan No. 2 Reservoir in Hsinchu almost twice. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 32.18 million cubic meters of water.
Flat-panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) also recycles about 85 percent of its wastewater — a relatively high standard in the industry, it said.
The company said it was not worried about a potential surcharge.
“If the government implements a water surcharge, it will have no effect on our company,” AUO said.
AUO has put a high priority on the environment and is committed to conserving water, saving 13 million cubic meters a year through its recycling initiatives, it said.
To encourage water conservation, the Water Resources Agency plans to add a surcharge on users of more than 1,000 cubic meters of water a month, targeting factories that produce electronics, flat panels, petrochemicals or steel.
Carwash and spa operators, hotels and playgrounds that use over 1,000 cubic meters of water a month are also to pay the surcharge, but offices, schools, hospitals and collective housing units are to be exempt, officials said.
The plan would add surcharges of 10 percent on use between 1,000 and 3,000 cubic meters; 20 percent on use between 3,000 and 6,000 cubic meters; and 30 percent on water use above 6,000 cubic meters.
Agency officials estimate that there are 5,742 clients using more than 1,000 cubic meters of water per month who would be subject to the surcharge.
Though they account for less than 1 percent of all users in the nation, big water users consume about 725 million cubic meters of water a year — about 26.1 percent of all water used in Taiwan.
If implemented, the surcharges would take effect in 2017 at the earliest.
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