Taiwan needs a more resilient and agile energy policy, including green-energy capacity deployment and a stable electricity grid to brace for spikes in power use due to rapid deployment of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled data centers and chip factories, not to mention rising global temperatures.
As the nation celebrates its success in the world’s semiconductor industry and woos AI investments, the government is facing challenges to supply sufficient power, particularly from renewable sources, as local manufacturers face pressure to reduce carbon emissions by using energy from more sustainable sources such as wind and solar.
Taiwan’s power use is expected to jump 12 percent annually through 2029 — outstripping previous estimates of 2 percent — as more advanced semiconductor fabs and AI data centers come online in the next few years, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said.
The semiconductor and AI industries are expected to be among the biggest users of power in Taiwan, which has built strong supply chains in those fields. Kuo has repeatedly said that power shortages would not be an issue by 2030, although doubts have not subsided.
Even with the Ministry of Economic Affairs aiming to deploy 40 terawatt-hours of clean energy by 2030, if 10 more data centers are deployed over the next few years, as Kuo has said, power supply stability could be at risk.
Apple Inc is seeking to set up its first data center in northern Taiwan, while AI chip suppliers Nvidia Inc and Advanced Micro Devices Inc are looking at setting up such facilities. Nvidia has set up a supercomputer center in Kaohsiung. Last month, Amazon Web Services announced a plan to invest billions of US dollars over the next 15 years to build data centers in Taiwan and create an infrastructure region in the country by early next year. Google has been operating a data center in Changhua County for a decade, while Microsoft Corp is building a data center in Taoyuan that is scheduled to open this year.
To build a more resilient electricity network, Kuo said it is crucial to improve state-run Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) equipment availability rate in addition to deploying new capacity. Taipower aims to revamp worn equipment in four years in areas that have had frequent power issues, upgrading the plans from a previous 10-year program.
Moreover, Kuo has urged manufacturers to conserve power by retiring aged and inefficient equipment, which has been estimated could cut power demand by about 5 percent.
However, conservation strategies might not help when power use spikes. Moreover, it takes time to build new capacity.
The government should consider encouraging the private sector and heavy users of electricity to build their own green energy capacity by offering greater incentives.
While a green energy credit program is an easy way to meet carbon reduction targets, large businesses are still willing to build solar energy capacity for their own use. However, they face obstacles, including a lack of land to deploy ground-mounted solar panels.
To overcome this hurdle, the government must release land that is not suitable for farming. This might be one way to unlock the potential of the nation’s solar energy capacity and overall green energy deployment.
To The Honorable Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜): We would like to extend our sincerest regards to you for representing Taiwan at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Monday. The Taiwanese-American community was delighted to see that Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan speaker not only received an invitation to attend the event, but successfully made the trip to the US. We sincerely hope that you took this rare opportunity to share Taiwan’s achievements in freedom, democracy and economic development with delegations from other countries. In recent years, Taiwan’s economic growth and world-leading technology industry have been a source of pride for Taiwanese-Americans.
Next week, the nation is to celebrate the Lunar New Year break. Unfortunately, cold winds are a-blowing, literally and figuratively. The Central Weather Administration has warned of an approaching cold air mass, while obstinate winds of chaos eddy around the Legislative Yuan. English theologian Thomas Fuller optimistically pointed out in 1650 that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” We could paraphrase by saying the coldest days are just before the renewed hope of spring. However, one must temper any optimism about the damage being done in the legislature by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), under
To our readers: Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Tuesday to Saturday the paper will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at convenience stores. Subscribers will receive the editions they missed once normal distribution resumes on Sunday, Feb. 2. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 3, when our regular editorials and opinion pieces will also be resumed.
This year would mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the India Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi. From the vision of “Look East” in the 1990s, India’s policy has evolved into a resolute “Act East,” which complements Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy.” In these three decades, India and Taiwan have forged a rare partnership — one rooted in shared democratic values, a commitment to openness and pluralism, and clear complementarities in trade and technology. The government of India has rolled out the red carpet for Taiwanese investors with attractive financial incentives
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