21 Jan, 2016

Taiwan reaches 728 MW of installed solar

Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency | TAIWAN, ROC | 20 Jan, 2016
Published by : Ecotechtube

Taiwanese authorities have released installation data for the island nation, as well as reiterating its target to install 8.7 GW by 2030.

Last Friday, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) announced that the nation has reached 728 MW of installed solar PV, as of October 2015. The nation’s Southern Region hosts the bulk of this, with 387 MW installed.

The majority of Taiwan's installed PV is in its Southern Region | Photo from Wikicommons

MOEA credits the passage of the nation’s feed-in tariff under the Renewable Energy Development Act with this growth, noting that installed PV levels in the Southern Region have increased more than 100-fold since 2008. Feed-in tariff levels are currently at US$ 0.15-0.22 per kilowatt-hour.

In May 2015, MOEA set a target to reach 8.7 GW of installed PV by 2030, with an annual installation target of 500 MW. MOEA stresses that collaboration between central and local governments will be essential to achieve its goals. The agency notes that it is encouraging local governments to install PV on the roofs of public buildings.

Taiwanese companies have carved out a niche in PV cell production, in a value chain increasingly dominated by China. And while the nation’s cell producers have come under pressure since the imposition of U.S. tariffs in 2014, many are diversifying their business operations and recent quarterly results show that market leaders are generally returning to profitability.

---

Article taken from : PV Magazine
Main image from Wikimedia Commons | Chensiyuan