Taiwan Plan to Invest $1.47 Billion in Renewable Energy
THE government of Taiwan is reportedly set to invest $838m in promoting renewable energy and a further $635m in its research and development in the next five years.
The country’s government also hopes to garner $200bn in private investment into the sector, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The government of Taiwan has set a target to increase energy efficiency by two per cent each year until 2020. It also plans to lower carbon emissions to their 2005 level in the same timeframe, with the public sector expected to reach seven per cent emissions reductions before 2015.
The government estimated that energy conservation action plans are expected to generate $11.3bn and create around 18,000 jobs. Renewable energy now accounts for 6.8 per cent of Taiwan’s electricity usage, according to the country’s Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The country’s Premier Wu Den-yih announced that carbon emissions in Taiwan rose at a slower rate than economic growth during the first nine months of the year. He said that energy consumption in the country during 2010 dropped more substantially than it has done in 20 years, falling four per cent.
Wu met with the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Tertius Zongo to discuss cooperative efforts on environmental protection as part of a wider package. Collaborative renewable energy projects between the two countries include a joint photovoltaic project. Wu said that Africa is an ideal climate for developing solar power, adding that Prime Minister Zongo expressed Burkina Faso’s interest in developing solar power.
Taiwan reduced its carbon emissions by 5.14 million tonnes during the first three quarters of the year. All Taiwanese government agencies are being required to incorporate energy conservation concepts into policies, according to an official statement.
