Nation Committed to Renewable Energy, Energy Efficiency

TAIPEI–Taiwan is working to promote renewable energy and improve energy efficiency to cope with the challenges of climate change and meet growing electricity demand, Economics Minister John Deng (鄧振中) said on Tuesday at a conference on energy issues in Taipei.

Taiwan is designing sustainable power solutions for the next generation to face up to climate change, he said at the opening of the Conference on Next Generation Power in Asia, at which local and foreign experts discussed solar energy, wind power and smart grids.

Meanwhile, developing renewable energy is an important issue for Taiwan because it relies heavily on imports of fuel and electricity demand continues to grow, Deng said.

In an effort to promote renewable energy, Taiwan has increased its target for overall renewable energy capacity from more than 10,000 megawatts to 30,000 megawatts by 2030, he added.

Taiwan has also set a target for energy efficiency improvement of 2 percent per year, he added.

Deng also noted that with the demand for electricity increasing, countries in Asia urgently need to construct a better and more efficient smart grid infrastructure.

Organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Bureau of Energy and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the two-day conference gathered experts and officials from such countries as Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines to talk about next generation power policies in Asia, the bureau said.

The bureau said it has been promoting solar energy and wind power projects as well as smart grid programs aimed at improving energy efficiency in recent years.

Participating U.S. officials at the event include Robert Wang, U.S. senior official for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and AIT Taipei Director Christopher Marut.

The event marks a step forward in U.S.-Taiwan cooperation in the region, Marut said, noting that the AIT and Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy have launched several programs in the energy area over the years.

The over-reliance on fossil fuel has had a negative impact in every region of the world, including air pollution in the Asia-Pacific, rising mercury levels in the oceans, damage to marine habitats and threats to global food security, Marut said in his opening remarks.

“All of the developments underscore the need for governments to plan and implement good energy polices and to adopt cleaner, more efficient and more affordable costs of producing energy,” said Marut, whose successor as AIT director has recently been named.

Original article online at: http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan-business/2015/05/13/435896/Nation-committed.htm