Taiwan’s power consumption is to increase faster at an annual compound growth rate of 2.5 percent over the next five years, mainly driven by an eightfold surge in electricity usage by artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the Energy Administration said yesterday.
The latest forecast represented an increase from the 2 percent growth estimated last year for the period from last year through 2029.
The annual growth rate from this year to 2033 is expected to reach 2.8 percent as new data centers for AI applications become operational, the administration said in a report.
Photo: CNA
The increase in demand comes as Taiwan is expected to undergo a strong economic recovery this year, the semiconductor industry expands capacity amid an AI boom and electric vehicles become more popular, the report said.
AI applications including AI-focused data centers would consume about 2.24 gigawatts (GW) of power in 2028, expanding eightfold from 240 megawatts last year, the administration said.
The latest forecast factored in the expected deployment of new data centers, likely from Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp and Amazon Web Services, in addition to existing centers operated by Google, Microsoft Corp and Nvidia.
Photo: Lin Jin-hua, Taipei Times
“Because of AI, Taiwan has to add 12 to 13 percent more capacity during peak load during the 2024-2029 period,” Energy Administration Director-General Yu Cheng-wei (游振偉) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The administration identified this year to 2028 as the critical period when electricity consumption would spike due to rapid uptakes of AI data centers, large-language AI training models and supercomputer centers, which have not been included in the administration’s forecast before.
Peak load demand is expected to expand to about 4.21GW at night from 3.73GW this year, the administration said.
To ensure stable and sufficient supply, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) would install more natural-gas generators, enhance electricity grid resilience by revamping electrical substations and expand green energy storage systems, Yu said.
He urged the public to support CPC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣中油) deployments of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals to regasify LNG before sending it to power stations.
The construction of new LNG terminals was suspended amid environmental concerns.
Taipower projected its reserve margin would improve to 13.3 percent in 2028 from 8.5 percent this year.
That figure is expected to climb to 23.8 percent in 2033, indicating that its electricity capacity would outgrow demand, or capacity adequacy, the state-run utility said.
Asked if the administration would consider restarting or delaying the shutdown of nuclear power plants, Yu said the administration would respect the legislature’s decision on the matter.
Renewable energy is to account for 20 percent of the total power supply in November 2026, rather than the government’s 2025 target, the third time the government has pushed back the goal.
Yu blamed a surge in power consumption for the delays, but said the deployment of renewable energy generation remains on track.
By the end of 2029, green energy is projected to make up about 25 percent of the total power supply, down from 27 percent estimated last year, largely due to increases in total power supply, the report said.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for
RSS