Greenpeace releases its annual report on “RE10X10” on Tuesday, an initiative launched by the NGO in 2020 advocating for Taiwanese enterprises to reach 10 percent green electricity use by 2025. Photo courtesy of Greenpeace.
Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) Greenpeace on Tuesday called for Taiwan Power Co.'s (Taipower) near monopolization of domestic renewable energy supply to be replaced by a framework that better supports the self-generation of green electricity by private enterprises.
Greenpeace made the recommendation in its annual report on "RE10X10," an initiative launched by the non-governmental organization in 2020 advocating for Taiwanese enterprises to reach 10 percent green electricity use by 2025, and 100 percent by 2050.
Describing green electricity as in "dire short supply," the report noted that the state-run Taipower currently purchased around 95 percent of the renewable energy generated in Taiwan under its Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) program, a long-term contract initially offered to renewable energy companies to insure them against market volatility.
As of last November, the total amount of renewable energy generated in the country was 22.96 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) but only 1.283 million T-Rec certificates, or Taiwan's renewable energy certificate, were issued, according to Greenpeace's Lydia Fang (方君維).
A certificate is equivalent to 1,000 kWh.
This means that only about 5 percent of the renewable energy generated was in the market for the enterprises to purchase, Fang said, adding that around 80 percent of this remainder was purchased by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Fang said Greenpeace advises the government to help mediate between location providers, electricity-intensive enterprises that are willing to set up green electricity facilities for their own use, and those energy enterprises that have experience in installing renewable energy facilities.
Currently, green electricity can mainly be obtained in three ways: direct supply from renewable energy generating companies, having green energy generated by renewable energy companies wheeled via Taipower's distribution system, or T-Rec purchasing.
But new ways have been developed throughout the implementation of the renewable energy market, such as setting up the enterprises' green facilities like solar panels or investing in the facilities installed somewhere outside the company, like schools, and purchasing the electricity generated, Fang said.
The government therefore has a role to play in offering a mediating platform to these different parties -- enterprises with green energy needs, renewable energy retailing companies, and those who have the space -- to facilitate and accelerate the green power use by the companies in Taiwan, Fang said.
However, Fang said there is a shortage of green energy supply in the country rendering it extremely difficult for enterprises to obtain green electricity.
According to Greenpeace's report, 18 of the 102 companies that have signed up to the RE10X10 pledge had successfully reached 10 percent green electricity use, with 11 even surpassing the 20 percent mark.
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