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Strong case for solar power in Taiwan

20GW by 2025: Behind Taiwan’s big solar numbers, PV Tech Nov 02, 2016 By Tom Kenning Nuclear reactors approaching end-of-life, a sound PV manufacturing industry and a robust legal system all make a strong case for solar PV to muscle into Taiwan’s energy mix. A new government set the tone for renewables integration by setting a target of 20GW solar by 2025 last year, but this is one of the most densely populated countries on earth, with two thirds of the island covered in steep mountainous forest and national parks; where the city ends the mountains begin. Moreover, a list of unique geographical and cultural challenges to PV development is topped off by the looming threat of some of the most gruelling typhoons in all Asia.

The capital city Taipei, to the north of the island, where population is most concentrated, also happens to have the poorest irradiation. Meanwhile, if solar deployment is concentrated in the more favourable conditions of the south, transmission infrastructure is limited. An island population of more than 23 million needs a solid agricultural industry, so the government has had to focus on releasing uncultivable land for solar, which is again in short supply. Even floating solar is being promoted in an attempt to alleviate these land constrictions. However, with many more hurdles for solar developers ahead, the proximity of Japan and the fallout over Fukushima means the appetite for nuclear has been quashed. New forms of energy are the priority.

As the Taiwan government prepares to finalise details of how its target will be met, PV Tech examines some of the huge numbers being proposed and what it will take to realise them.  The government has shown clear support for its clean energy transition with Chen Chien-Jen, vice president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), speaking at the opening ceremony of the PV Tawain exhibition in Taipei this year. He cited the need for more energy independence while reiterating plans to phase out nuclear by 2025 through focusing on solar and off-shore wind.

He said: “Taiwan has great resources and is in a good positon to develop PV and green energy.”

According to the green energy policy released in 2015 by the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, the plan is to have 20% of Taiwan’s energy mix coming from renewables by 2025. With all the island’s constraints, it would make sense to concentrate on the highest efficiency solar modules to make the most of every hectare of land used. As it happens, Taiwanese cell manufacturers have tended to produce some of the highest efficiency cells across the globe. It has roughly 2GW annual capacity of the higher efficiency cells, which would translate into the 2GW per year necessary over ten years to reach the domestic 20GW target.

It is no wonder then that Taiwan’s new feed-in tariff (FiT) is bias towards higher efficiency solar modules by offering a higher reward.

It may also be the reason that several Taiwanese cell manufacturers including Neo Solar Power (NSP) and AU Optronics have started to focus on vertical integration, as discussed by Solar Intelligence’s Finlay Colville in his two-part blog on upstream trends from PV Taiwan. For example, Alex Wen, senior vice president, NSP, tells PV Tech that with cell prices dropping as much as 33% in a period of just three months, the firm is increasing its module manufacturing as well as investing in solar PV projects to raise cash. Proximity to the sea and floating solar opportunities are also driving innovation in modules, with NSP due to release a double-glass module that benefits from water reflection.

PV Tech has already detailed how the landscape for solar in Taiwan is changing, but having canvassed industry members at PV Taiwan, here we go into more detail:

The numbers……… http://www.pv-tech.org/features/20gw-by-2025-behind-taiwans-big-solar-numbers?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

November 4, 2016 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | renewable, Taiwan