Solar power supplier Grinnodot Inc (綠點能創) and AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) have formed a partnership to speed up solar power installations in Taiwan, addressing the fast-growing demand for green energy.
The collaboration came after Grinnodot in September last year secured a license to retail renewable energy, making it an alternative to state-run Taiwan Power Co (台電) for electricity supply for households and enterprises, the companies said in a joint statement yesterday.
In the initial stage, AUO is to build rooftop solar systems with annual installed capacity of 10 megawatts (MW), mostly for households and individual investors, according to the statement.
Photo courtesy of AU Optronics Corp
Grinnodot builds solar power plants and trades green energy via a platform, called Sunnyfounder, to the public.
The scale should increase over time as Grinnodot also targets local businesses to sell green energy, it said.
AUO is to help build and install solar panels on the roofs of factories and buildings in Taichung.
The project, called “Sun Cake No. 35,” was sold out soon after the project was put on the platform yesterday.
Each solar panel is priced at NT$18,150, with a return set at 6 percent over a 20-year period.
About 249 investors have joined the project, Grinnodot said.
Grinnodot started as a small green energy supplier to households and individual investors, but it is expanding to provide green energy to local enterprises that value environmental sustainability, chief executive officer Edison Feng (馮嘯儒) said.
The alliance with AUO should help the company achieve that goal, Feng said.
AUO provides total solar power solutions from solar modules to power plant construction and maintenance services.
Over the past four years, Grinnodot has built solar panels with installed capacity totaling 15MW, the statement said.
About 50,000 investors have subscribed to solar energy, it said.
Heavy power users are required to derive 10 percent of their power consumption from green energy, according to new rules announced by the Ministry of Economic Affairs early this year.
Those users have to complete installations of green energy facilities by 2025, or acquire green energy certificates, the ministry said.
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