The Cabinet yesterday approved a green energy plan that set a goal of lifting the annual output of the nation’s renewable energy industries from last year’s NT$160.3 billion (US$4.77 billion) to more than NT$1 trillion by 2015, Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said yesterday.
Yiin made the remarks at a press conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting.
The government hopes that provision of energy from renewable resources will grow from 7 percent of total energy output last year to 15 percent by 2025, said Yeh Huey-ching (葉惠青), director-general of the Bureau of Energy.
Under the proposal, the government will use NT$25 billion to subsidize the installation of facilities in renewable energy industries and energy-conservation equipment as well as NT$20 billion in renewable energy research and development, Yiin said.
The minister said that the investments would lead to an input of about NT$200 billion from the private sector.
The photovoltaic industry, LED lighting industry, wind energy, biofuel energy, hydrogen energy, fuel cell batteries, energy information communication technology and electric vehicle industries are all included in the plan, Yiin said.
The development of the green energy industry will create 110,000 job opportunities over five years to add to the approximately 16,000 already employed in the renewable energy industry.
Yiin said the plan would help turn the country into one of the world’s top three producers of solar batteries, with a solar photovoltaic industry cluster and a photovoltaic solar industry research and development center.
Currently the output value of the country’s solar industry ranks fourth in the world.
Meanwhile, Executive Yuan spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) restated the government’s determination to push through the long-stalled renewable energy bill during this legislative session, which is scheduled to close at the end of next month.
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