The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a four-year plan to offer subsidies of up to NT$300,000 (US$9,248) each to install rooftop solar panels on private residential buildings.
This comes as the Ministry of Economic Affairs moved back a target for solar photovoltaic (PV) installations to 2026.
Owners of buildings with roofs smaller than 1,000m2 and solar energy companies can apply for a subsidy of up to NT$3,000 per kilowatt (kW) of installed capacity, for a total of up to NT$300,000 per project.
Photo: Taipei Times
The program, which is to run from next year to 2028, is projected to cost NT$4.08 billion and increase rooftop power generation by 1.2 gigawatts (GW).
Taiwan has 13.82GW of PV installations, of which 8.76GW, or 63 percent, comes from rooftop solar power systems.
Most of the installations are on medium-sized or large buildings, meaning that small roofs would be the main driver of growth moving forward, Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Lien Ching-chang (連錦漳) said.
Compared with ground-mounted systems, rooftop solar is a more mature technology and is less controversial, the ministry said.
Previously, the economics ministry and the Ministry of the Interior discussed expanding PV installations to all new or renovated buildings with roofs larger than 1,000m2.
For smaller rooftops, the economics ministry has offered subsidies through feed-in-tariff (FIT) rates, which stand at NT$5.7 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), better than the rate for ground-based systems at NT$3.7 per kwH.
The economics ministry said it simplified the application process for households, so that when people register equipment, they can simultaneously apply for the subsidy.
There are five documents required: an application form, identification, equipment registration, a payment receipt and a bank account passbook photocopy, it said.
The economics ministry estimated that the program would attract 120,000 participants.
If they apply for about 10kW each, it would increase total rooftop capacity by 1.2GW, which translates to 1.5 billion kwH per year, it said.
The cost of rooftop solar panel installation is between NT$55,000 and NT$60,000 per kilowatt, Energy Administration Director-General Yu Cheng-wei (游振偉) told a news conference.
Some administrative regions already have PV subsidies in place, he said, adding that the economics ministry’s initiative is meant to support the common goal of achieving net zero emissions.
Last year, renewable energy sources accounted for 9.5 percent of Taiwan’s total electricity generation.
Solar energy accounted for about half of the energy generated from renewables, or between 4 and 5 percent of total electricity generation, economics ministry data showed.
Additional reporting by CNA
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