Solar module supplier United Renewable Energy Co (UREC, 聯合再生能源) yesterday said that it has formed a solar energy venture with Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽保險), Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) and a venture capital unit of Shin Kong Financial Holding Co (新光金控).
The companies have agreed to inject initial capital of NT$3 billion (US$101.42 million) into the new venture, a UREC statement said.
The new venture is to build and operate solar power plants in Taiwan, the statement said.
Taiwan could become a “green energy” hub as the government is aiming for renewable energy to account for 20 percent of power generated by the end of 2025, it said.
UREC expects to secure approval for the construction of several large solar power plants by the end of this year, paving the way for those projects to begin next year, the company said.
That would help boost UREC’s solar module shipments and improve operational efficiency, it said.
Since 2014, Taiwan Life has invested in, or granted loans to, NT$20 billion of solar energy projects, showing its support for the government’s energy policy, the company said.
Separately, UREC yesterday posted revenue of NT$1.24 billion for last month, a 2.26 percent month-on-month increase from NT$1.21 billion, but an 11.43 percent year-on-year decline from NT$1.39 billion last year.
In the first half of this year, revenue plunged 37.25 percent year-on-year to NT$6.28 billion from NT$10.01 billion, a regulatory filing showed.
The company said that it is adding new capacity to cope with rising demand for solar modules from Taiwanese customers, while it expects demand in overseas markets to pick up in the second half of the year as more nations reopen their economies following the COVID-19 pandemic.
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