San Francisco, Sept. 12 (CNA) Economic Affairs Minister Shih Yen-shiang pointed to "green growth" as a major factor in Taiwan's economic growth and highlighted Taiwan's achievements in the field at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in San Francisco Tuesday.
Speaking at the APEC Energy Security Policy Roundtable, Shih pointed to green growth as a major engine of the country's economic growth and emphasized that Taiwan's technological advancements in renewable energy had drawn the interest of other countries attending the meeting.
In 2010, the country's green technology competitiveness was ranked sixth globally and second in Asia by the International Institute for Management and Development (IMD), indicating the island's green technology potential, he said.
Shih said Taiwan's green energy output value is about NT$390 billion (US$13.24 billion), and the country hopes to increase that amount in the near future.
The country has also set sustainable energy development goals that aim to cut carbon dioxide emission levels in 2020 to 2005 levels, and to 2000 levels of 210 million tons by 2025, Shih said.
In the future, enhancing energy efficiency will be increasingly important and the trend will be to develop renewable energy and expand green energy usage, he said.
Solar energy may be an option, but its efficiency will need to reach 13 percent to reduce the price per kilowatt/hour to US$0.40, equal to current electricity prices. Taiwan, Shih said, is intensifying research and expects to be able to reach the goal soon.
As for wind power, Taiwan currently generates 530 megawatts of power from the wind and hopes to generate 3,000 megawatts by 2025, with offshore turbines accounting for 60 percent of the total.
At present, renewable energy accounts for 8.2 percent of Taiwan's installed electricity generation capacity but only 4 percent of all power output. Shih said Taiwan hopes its installed capacity increases to 16 percent by 2030.
The roundtable meeting was focused on two main topics -- the impact of energy security on economic growth and technological innovations pushing APEC's growth.
On the sidelines of the conference, Shih also held talks with Philippine Secretary of Energy Jose Rene Almendra on the two countries' energy policies.
Taiwan will be sending a team to the Philippines in the future to gain a better understanding of that country's geothermal energy facilities, and the Philippines will send a team to Taiwan to learn more about the country's advances in renewable energy technology, Shih said.
Taiwan considered using geothermal energy 20 years ago but could not overcome the technical difficulties, and it hoped to reassess the prospects of the energy source through exchanges with the Philippines, the minister added.
The Philippines has abundant geothermal energy, which accounts for 43 percent of the country's electricity, and is the second largest producer of geothermal energy after the United States, Shih said.
He also plans to engage in talks with energy ministers from Vietnam, the U.S., Indonesia and China in the next few days and will attend the APEC 2011 Energy and Transport ministerial meeting on Wednesday.
Source: http://focustaiwan.tw
Speaking at the APEC Energy Security Policy Roundtable, Shih pointed to green growth as a major engine of the country's economic growth and emphasized that Taiwan's technological advancements in renewable energy had drawn the interest of other countries attending the meeting.
In 2010, the country's green technology competitiveness was ranked sixth globally and second in Asia by the International Institute for Management and Development (IMD), indicating the island's green technology potential, he said.
Shih said Taiwan's green energy output value is about NT$390 billion (US$13.24 billion), and the country hopes to increase that amount in the near future.
The country has also set sustainable energy development goals that aim to cut carbon dioxide emission levels in 2020 to 2005 levels, and to 2000 levels of 210 million tons by 2025, Shih said.
In the future, enhancing energy efficiency will be increasingly important and the trend will be to develop renewable energy and expand green energy usage, he said.
Solar energy may be an option, but its efficiency will need to reach 13 percent to reduce the price per kilowatt/hour to US$0.40, equal to current electricity prices. Taiwan, Shih said, is intensifying research and expects to be able to reach the goal soon.
As for wind power, Taiwan currently generates 530 megawatts of power from the wind and hopes to generate 3,000 megawatts by 2025, with offshore turbines accounting for 60 percent of the total.
At present, renewable energy accounts for 8.2 percent of Taiwan's installed electricity generation capacity but only 4 percent of all power output. Shih said Taiwan hopes its installed capacity increases to 16 percent by 2030.
The roundtable meeting was focused on two main topics -- the impact of energy security on economic growth and technological innovations pushing APEC's growth.
On the sidelines of the conference, Shih also held talks with Philippine Secretary of Energy Jose Rene Almendra on the two countries' energy policies.
Taiwan will be sending a team to the Philippines in the future to gain a better understanding of that country's geothermal energy facilities, and the Philippines will send a team to Taiwan to learn more about the country's advances in renewable energy technology, Shih said.
Taiwan considered using geothermal energy 20 years ago but could not overcome the technical difficulties, and it hoped to reassess the prospects of the energy source through exchanges with the Philippines, the minister added.
The Philippines has abundant geothermal energy, which accounts for 43 percent of the country's electricity, and is the second largest producer of geothermal energy after the United States, Shih said.
He also plans to engage in talks with energy ministers from Vietnam, the U.S., Indonesia and China in the next few days and will attend the APEC 2011 Energy and Transport ministerial meeting on Wednesday.
Source: http://focustaiwan.tw
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