Delta Electronics Inc (台達電), the nation’s top supplier of power-supply units, on Friday inaugurated a solar power plant in the mountainous area of Ako City in Japan’s Hyogo Prefecture.
It is the first solar power plant built by Delta as part of its efforts in generating electrictiy from renewable energy sources. The plant, which connects to an extra-high voltage grid of 33,000 volts, is the largest distributed solar power plant in Japan.
Covering an area of 96,000m2, the plant at the Delta Ako Energy Park has a capacity of 4.6 megawatts and is expected to generate 4.9 million kilowatt-hours per year.
Delta said that electricity generated by the plant is expected to meet the energy demands of 930 households per year. Under Japan’s Renewable Energy Special Treatment Act, the power generated by the Delta Ako Energy Park can be entirely sold to power companies there.
NEW MODEL
The presence of the solar power plant has created a new business model and an alternative revenue source for Delta. In addition, it marks a milestone for the company’s commitment to providing clean energy and supporting environmental sustainability.
The company has provided power and energy management solutions to a wide range of global industries, including renewable energy, data centers and industrial automation, vice chairman Mark Ko (柯子興) said.
BOOST TO GROWTH
Meanwhile, doubling the share of solar, wind and other renewables in the energy mix would boost global economic growth by as much as 1.1 percent by 2030, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
The gains, equal to US$1.3 trillion, would mostly come from increased investment, IRENA said in a report on Saturday. That would boost “direct and indirect” industry employment to 24.4 million people, according to the report. Last year, it estimated sector employment at as many as 9.2 million people.
“Doubling the share of renewables in the global energy mix pays back in terms of economic growth, social welfare, job creation and overall trade balances,” it said in conjunction with its annual meeting in Abu Dhabi.
“This study, the first of its kind, provides a solid basis for future work to quantify the growth-enhancing potential of renewable energy in the global economy,” the report said.
Global energy demand is expected to increase by 21 percent by 2030, the group said, citing International Energy Agency data. The share of the energy sector to gross domestic product is 6 percent, ranging from 57 percent in Kuwait to 3 percent in Germany, it said.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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