The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday denied a recent report that US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp had requested a large amount of green power to undertake new investments in Taiwan.
The company’s investments in the country have progressed without any problems, the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry said it contacted Nvidia, and the company said it has no plans to purchase 10 terawatt-hours (TWh) of green power for any new investment project in Taiwan.
Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times
Nvidia investment plans in Taiwan have been carried out as scheduled, including building its first research and development center in Asia and an AI supercomputer named “Taipei-1” — completed at the end of last year, the ministry said.
“Taipei-1” in Kaohsiung is expected to consume only green energy in the future and has obtained the amount of electricity it requires, the ministry said.
Solar power and offshore wind make up the bulk of green energy development in Taiwan, the ministry said.
The controversy stemmed from a legislative hearing on Tuesday last week, during which Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) said Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) had put forward specific terms for new investments in Taiwan and Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said that “we can meet the terms.”
The next day, Kuo said that Huang had not directly made such a request and that “it is out of the question that the company will not return [to Taiwan].”
The ministry and Nvidia have also discussed workforce issues, Kuo said.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man