Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Three green energy associations organized a forum earlier this week during 2023 Energy Taiwan in an effort to debunk misunderstandings about solar energy that have “hindered the development of the industry” which is critical in addressing Taiwan’s urgent need for green electricity, the groups said.
The Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry System Association (TPiSA), Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry Association (TPVIA) and Green Energy and Sustainability Alliance under SEMI Taiwan jointly organized a roundtable on the first day of the three-day 2023 Energy Taiwan Expo to share their views on “solar power’s critical moment.”
According to the organizers, although Taiwan’s economy is heavily dependent on exporting industries that have an increasing demand for green energy, the development of the nation’s green energy industry has been hampered by misunderstandings and unfounded rumors due to informational asymmetry between the green energy industry and the public.
The talk on Wednesday sought to debunk “untrue narratives and controversies” spread recently and to convey correct green energy knowledge, with experts from the industry and academia sharing examples and experiences with scientific evidence, according to a press release from the organizers.
United Renewable Energy Co. (URE) Chairman Sam Hong (洪傳獻) said during the talk that solar energy is a must for Taiwan, considering the trend to net-zero and the problem of air pollution, adding that it should account for more than 30 percent of the country’s total electricity generation.
According to the Energy Administration, in 2022 the percentage of total electricity generated by solar power was about 3.7 percent.
Hong said that solar photovoltaics (PV) is an environment-friendly electricity generating system, as the panels simply stand and generate power without requiring any movement.
He also stressed that as the systems are modularized, the generation of electricity would not be totally destroyed in the event of war, as modularized components can be easily fixed and replaced.
Taiwan-based silicon wafer supplier GlobalWafers Co. Chairwoman Doris Hsu (徐秀蘭), who doubles as head of the TPVIA, said her corporation is a high electricity-consuming silicon wafer manufacturer, with total consumption of manufacturing factories in nine countries reaching about 1.2 billion kWh. The one in Texas, U.S. uses 38 percent green energy, in Denmark 60 percent, while the figure is only 8 percent for the plant in Taiwan.
However, many corporations are now being pressured to use renewable energy, especially as their costs will soon reflect carbon emissions, she said.
INA Energy Co. Chairman and TPiSA Chairman Norman Tsai (蔡佳晋) told the audience that solar energy would not destroy agriculture, as the rumors allege, but rather help the sector balance carbon emissions.
In another forum on energy transition held at Energy Taiwan on Friday, he further explained that while the rumors concerning PV are mostly about it affecting and crowding out arable land and thereby hurting Taiwan’s food self-sufficiency, INA Energy found that Taiwan has a much lower food self-sufficiency rate than Japan, even though there is little difference in the two countries per capita agricultural land.
Tsai said this indicates that Taiwan’s agricultural problem is more likely attributable to population loss in farming villages and low farmland use efficiency rather than insufficient arable land. As such, his corporation has been working to promote a low-carbon agricultural economy and regional revitalization by creating value-added agricultural products and agricultural tourism.
Lan Chung-wen (藍崇文), a professor of chemical engineering at National Taiwan University, who also attended Wednesday’s roundtable, said over one terawatt, or 1,000 gigawatts, of solar power has already been installed around the world, signifying that scientific research and market approval for the technology is well established.
He was responding to the rumors that PV is toxic and harmful to the environment, causing a “heat island effect,” or generating electromagnetic waves that are harmful to people.
In the “clarification of spot news” section where the Ministry of Economic Affairs issues press releases to clarify or respond to news reports or online rumors, as of Saturday of the 20 releases issued by the Energy Administration since Aug. 1 eight had “solar power” in their title and six were about wind power or green energy in general.
Read More: Solar energy development hampered by unfounded rumors: PV industry