International Energy Agency executive director Fatih Birol calls energy efficiency the “first fuel.” As well as reducing energy consumption and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, improved energy efficiency can also cut energy costs, bringing multiple benefits in environmental, energy and economic terms.
Saving 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity is definitely better than using it. Electricity generation uses a large amount of energy resources and Taiwan’s limited production of energy resources means that generating more electricity would make the country even more dependent on imported energy resources than it already is.
In addition, electricity generation inevitably involves energy conversion losses, and line losses occur during the transmission and distribution of electricity from the power plant to the consumer. This means that using 1kWh of electricity requires generating more than 1kWh, which causes a greater negative impact on our ecology and environment.
Furthermore, investment in energy-saving equipment not only produces benefit in the same year, but can go on saving electricity year after year throughout the useful life of the equipment. So, if policies continue to encourage investment in energy conservation, the cumulative energy savings would be substantial.
There is a worldwide consensus about the importance of energy efficiency for achieving net zero carbon emissions. Countries around the world are busy setting energy efficiency targets as one of their policies for achieving net zero.
For example, the EU considers energy efficiency to be a key strategy for energy saving and carbon reduction, and the EU’s Energy Efficiency Directive sets a target of reducing energy consumption in 2030 by 15.8 percent compared with 2020.
Although France generates nearly 70 percent of its electricity from nuclear power, its National Low-Carbon Strategy includes plans to significantly improve energy efficiency in industrial, residential and transport, and other sectors. Another example is Japan, whose Sixth Basic Energy Plan sets an ambitious target of reducing electricity demand in 2030 by 20 percent compared with 2013.
Taiwan’s government deserves credit for its aggressive promotion of energy saving measures to comply with international standards. This should not be ignorantly misrepresented as power shortages.
For example, based on the 2013 initiative to keep air conditioner temperatures at a moderate level, this year the government has gone a step further by setting a target ambient temperature of 23°C during meal times and 26°C at other times, which is expected to be met by 32 companies at more than 1,300 locations. To meet this target, these companies can obtain corporate specialist diagnosis and guidance from a team of experts.
Air conditioners and refrigerators are the main users of electricity in Taiwan’s residential sector. To improve the efficiency of home appliances, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has launched a subsidy scheme for replacing old appliances, offering up to NT$3,000 for each air conditioner or refrigerator replaced by an inverter-type unit that is rated in the top tier of the official five-tier energy efficiency scale.
Widespread installation of smart meters, combined with home and building energy management systems, would allow people to use a mobile phone app to adjust the timing of their domestic electricity consumption in accordance with the time-based tariff, thus achieving the dual effect of saving electricity and reducing peak consumption.
Changing to inverter-type home appliances, installing smart meters and developing energy management systems can promote the development of Taiwan’s energy-saving industry at the same time as saving energy for the whole nation.
The government is joining hands with industry and the public to promote energy saving, combining everyone’s strength to cut the risk of global climate change and advance toward the goal of net zero emissions. We should give the authorities credit for these efforts, rather than weakening the impetus of energy conservation by unfairly portraying energy saving measures as power shortages.
Lin Faa-jeng is a chair professor in National Central University’s Department of Electrical Engineering.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Why is Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) not a “happy camper” these days regarding Taiwan? Taiwanese have not become more “CCP friendly” in response to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) use of spies and graft by the United Front Work Department, intimidation conducted by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Armed Police/Coast Guard, and endless subversive political warfare measures, including cyber-attacks, economic coercion, and diplomatic isolation. The percentage of Taiwanese that prefer the status quo or prefer moving towards independence continues to rise — 76 percent as of December last year. According to National Chengchi University (NCCU) polling, the Taiwanese
It would be absurd to claim to see a silver lining behind every US President Donald Trump cloud. Those clouds are too many, too dark and too dangerous. All the same, viewed from a domestic political perspective, there is a clear emerging UK upside to Trump’s efforts at crashing the post-Cold War order. It might even get a boost from Thursday’s Washington visit by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In July last year, when Starmer became prime minister, the Labour Party was rigidly on the defensive about Europe. Brexit was seen as an electorally unstable issue for a party whose priority
US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House has brought renewed scrutiny to the Taiwan-US semiconductor relationship with his claim that Taiwan “stole” the US chip business and threats of 100 percent tariffs on foreign-made processors. For Taiwanese and industry leaders, understanding those developments in their full context is crucial while maintaining a clear vision of Taiwan’s role in the global technology ecosystem. The assertion that Taiwan “stole” the US’ semiconductor industry fundamentally misunderstands the evolution of global technology manufacturing. Over the past four decades, Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), has grown through legitimate means
Today is Feb. 28, a day that Taiwan associates with two tragic historical memories. The 228 Incident, which started on Feb. 28, 1947, began from protests sparked by a cigarette seizure that took place the day before in front of the Tianma Tea House in Taipei’s Datong District (大同). It turned into a mass movement that spread across Taiwan. Local gentry asked then-governor general Chen Yi (陳儀) to intervene, but he received contradictory orders. In early March, after Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) dispatched troops to Keelung, a nationwide massacre took place and lasted until May 16, during which many important intellectuals
RSS