The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday said it is relaxing industrial policy, as it seeks to resolve disputes with the EU over offshore wind energy projects before the settlement period expires at the end of this month.
The ministry’s remarks came after Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday met with developers of offshore wind energy zones 3-1 and 3-2 to discuss obstacles that might hinder them from completing the installations of wind power turbines and connecting them to grids by 2030 at the latest.
Taiwan’s industrial policy was the top issue brought up by offshore wind energy developers, followed by availability of bank loans from government-controlled lenders, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of Skyborn Renewable Taiwan Co via CNA
“The ministry is negotiating with the EU under the WTO framework,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The consultation had a positive atmosphere and is moving toward a settlement,” it added.
The government is to loosen its industrial policy, the ministry said.
That means offshore wind farm developers might not be penalized if any force majeure factors lead to the postponement in wind farm constructions, such as delays in local supplies of components and maritime engineering services — the unavailability of geotechnics drilling vessels, for example — an official said.
Offshore wind energy developers can submit applications to the ministry for a review, under the condition that those wind turbines must be erected as scheduled while safeguarding the public’s interests, the ministry said.
The EU on July 26 requested dispute settlement consultations at the WTO on concerns over local content criteria for offshore wind energy projects.
Taiwan’s local content eligibility and award criteria in energy capacity allocation auctions for offshore wind farms are inconsistent with its WTO commitment to not discriminate against imported goods and services, the EU said.
The EU said at the time that it can request the WTO to set up a panel to rule on this matter if the two parties fail to reach a satisfactory solution within 60 days, or by Friday.
The ministry said that offshore wind energy developers are hoping to get the government’s support in a symbolic way, so they are aiming to obtain bank loans from government-controlled lenders.
The ministry said that to reach that goal, it would arrange meetings between officials from the National Development Council, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Ministry of Finance and offshore wind energy developers this month to gain a holistic picture of the industry before granting loans.
That is an imminent task to significantly boost green energy capacity by 2030, it said.
Demand from local firms are growing rapidly given mounting pressure to meet customers’ requirements of adopting a certain degree of green energy, the ministry added.
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said second-quarter revenue is expected to surpass the first quarter, which rose 30 percent year-on-year to NT$118.92 billion (US$3.71 billion). Revenue this quarter is likely to grow, as US clients have front-loaded orders ahead of US President Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on Taiwanese goods, Delta chairman Ping Cheng (鄭平) said at an earnings conference in Taipei, referring to the 90-day pause in tariff implementation Trump announced on April 9. While situations in the third and fourth quarters remain unclear, “We will not halt our long-term deployments and do not plan to
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
RSS