An official of the RE100 renewable energy initiative on Thursday called on the government to remove subsidies for fossil fuels to further boost the development of the renewable energy market.
Climate Group director of energy Sam Kimmins welcomed Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) to the RE100 family, which has committed to using 100 percent renewable electricity across its global operations by 2040.
Foxconn said it formally became a member of RE100 on Thursday.
Photo: Taipei Times
RE100 is a global corporate renewable energy initiative that calls for businesses to commit to 100 percent renewable electricity. It has 34 company members headquartered in Taiwan, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Hon Hai.
The 34 members represent more than 10 percent of Taiwan’s electricity demand, Kimmins said.
The country’s total electricity consumption last year was about 277 terawatt-hours, the Energy Administration said.
Kimmins said that about 98 percent of Taiwan’s energy is imported, representing not only an enormous cost, but also an energy security risk.
“The great thing about renewables is you produce them here in Taiwan,” he said.
As an export economy, Taiwan is heavily reliant on exports and its customers, such as Google, Amazon and Apple, are increasingly asking for products to be made using 100 percent renewable electricity or carbon-free measures, the RE100 director said.
However, while demand is high, there are barriers to mass access for companies in Taiwan. The relatively high price of renewable electricity is one major hurdle.
Kimmins said one reason the price remains high might be because the tipping point for a decrease has not yet been reached.
“The Global Wind Energy Council [GWEC] has a model predicting that once a market achieves around 3 to 4 gigawatts of [installed] offshore wind power, not only do you have a steady decrease in price, you [also] have a sudden step down in price,” he said.
Taiwan’s offshore wind market has not yet achieved the scale, but is on track to reach 3 gigawatts by the end of this year and up to 5.6 gigawatts next year, he said.
“So you’re soon hitting the tipping point predicted by GWEC,” he added.
Another factor that has kept the renewable energy price relatively high is that subsidies for fossil fuels keep the non-renewable electricity price “artificially low,” the director said.
Removing subsidies for fossil fuels would create a level playing field for renewable electricity, Kimmins added.
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