The Executive Yuan today approved an incentive subsidy program for private buildings to install rooftop solar panels to help achieve Taiwan’s zero-emission target by 2050, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said.
Starting from next year, owners of buildings with roofs smaller than 1,000 square meters can apply for a subsidy of up to NT$3,000 per kilowatt (kW) and NT$300,000 (US$9,251) per project.
The actual subsidy amount is to be determined on a case-by-case basis, Energy Administration Director-General Yu Cheng-wei (游振偉) said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The program, planned to run for four years, is projected to cost NT$4.08 billion and increase rooftop power generation by 1.2 gigawatts (GW).
It is estimated that 120,000 households could benefit from the program.
Taiwan only currently has 13.82GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations, according to the ministry.
When compared to ground-mounted systems, rooftop solar is a more mature technology and less controversial.
Previously, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior discussed expanding PV installations to all new or renovated buildings with roofs larger than 1,000 square meters.
For smaller rooftops, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has offered subsidies through feed-in-tariff (FIT) rates, which currently stand at NT$5.7 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), higher than the rate for ground-based systems at NT$3.7 per kwH.
The ministry also said it simplified the application process for households, so that when individuals register their equipment they can simultaneously apply for the subsidy.
The ministry estimates that if program participants apply for about 10kW each, it will increase total rooftop capacity by 1.2GW, which would be 1.5 billion kwH per year.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS