[Project] The Niche of Solar Power in Taiwan
This article marks the first collaborative project by TWYCC’s newly formed Medium Team in 2023. Its objective is to explore a climate-related local topic, analyze the viewpoints of various stakeholders, and subsequently present our own perspectives as young individuals. Specifically, this article focuses on how young adults view the policy of solar power development in Taiwan while the government is eager to increase the capacity of renewable energy.
A bright future of solar power in Taiwan?
Imported fossil fuels are now accounting for 80% of the total energy consumption of Taiwan, a country with a population of 23.5 millions. On top of the commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050, the increasing geopolitical tension in the Taiwan Strait has urged Taiwanese to be more independent in terms of the energy supply. Apart from nuclear power, which is set to be phased out on the island, what options are on the table for Taiwanese?
Solar power, which is playing a dominant role in the renewable energy sector, currently accounts for 4% of the total electricity generated. Although this percentage is miserably low, we can anticipate that solar power becomes more and more important for the energy transition of the country as the government has targeted boosting the fraction to 13% by 2025. What can Taiwanese do to achieve the goal? And what can Taiwanese do further to maximise the amount of energy harvested from the Sun afterwards? Same as many other countries that are undergoing energy transition, Taiwan has encountered one big challenge, which is the lack of land resources.
Solar power requires a lot of land space. The total land area of Taiwan is about 36,200 . If we are allowed to do some crude math by simply dividing the population by the total land area, we get a population density of roughly 650/square kilomitre. However, the number does not reflect the truth of how densely populated Taiwan is. In fact, because of the geography, 90% of the population live on merely 17.5% of the total land area, which translates to a population density of around 3,350/. Can the installation of solar panels on limited land areas suffices the energy demand of Taiwanese?
Where do Taiwanese place the solar panels?
There are three ways solar panels in Taiwan are placed. We outline each of them with their current statuses below.
Ground-mounted
Ground-mounted solar panels are typical. One can imagine a huge collection of solar panels of this kind are laid such as in the Mojave desert in the US. But, Taiwan has no desserts. Hence, ground-mounted solar panels have always had to compete vigorously with other forms of land use. Currently, tThe Feed-in Tariff (TIF) scheme has encouraged private landowners to invest in ground-mounted solar panels by selling the electricity generated to the Taiwan Power Company, a state-owned electric power industry. Nonetheless, the lucrativeness of investing these solar panels leads to abuse of the scheme at the expense of other forms of land use such as wetlands that are ecologically rich and farmlands that provide food, which is a resource as important as energy.
Rooftop
Since Taiwan lacks usable land for ground-mounted solar panels, putting solar panels on roofs is an attractive alternative. It avoids making damages to the ecosystems or sacrificing land use for other purposes. There are two issues, however, we need to consider. First, the area available for rooftop solar panels is usually small. To what extent the solar power can help reducing carbon emission is questionable. Second, the incentive for the general public to invest in rooftop solar panels seems to be small. It takes years for the people to enjoy the financial benefit. The implementation is getting even more difficult for non-state-owned apartment buildings where different families share the same roof, which will be discussed below.
Floating
An example of floating solar panels in Taiwan is from Changhua County, as shown in the following figure. One advantage of this type of solar panels is that it seldom compromises other forms of land use. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that floating solar panels in general are technically more demanding because they have to be durable and resistant to corrosion due to seawater and waves. Another concern is their potentially negative ecological and landscape impacts.
What are the stances of the stakeholders on rooftop solar panels?
The implementation of ground-mounted and floating solar panels is virtually impossible without the government getting involved. Rooftop solar panels, on the other hand, are doable on the individual levels. As a result, we would like to discuss this particular type of solar panels in further detail.
According to the 2015 Sample Home Condition Survey, the housing characteristics in Taiwan varies significantly by region. While half of the population live in detached or semi-detached houses if we consider Taiwan as a whole, more than 90% of the people in the Taipei Metropolitan Area, which is the most densely populated region in Taiwan, live in apartment buildings. Hence, the stakeholders can briefly fall into two categories: residents from urban areas and residents from countryside or rural areas.
Apartment buildings (predominate in cities)
Most of the time, installing solar panels on the rooftops of apartment buildings could be challenging. It requires the residents reaching a consensus but not everyone necessarily shares the same values or the strong sense of environmental protection. Whether or not the solar panels are financially worthy and how the generated electricity should be distributed are also some aspects the residents might have different attitudes to. It is also interesting to point out the issue of illegal constructions in Taiwan. Since it’s common to see illegal rooftop additions here, our government has loosened the law of installing solar panels on illegal constructions. Nevertheless, the constructions themselves are illegal and still have to be removed one day. So, what will be the fate of those solar panels? It is one example of the poorly designed regulations of the government that add one more layer of complication or ambiguity, discouraging people from installing rooftop solar panels.
Terraced houses (predominate in countryside or rural areas)
Unlike those who live in apartments, people living in this type of housing do not need to deal with the opinions of others because the building is usually owned by a single family. The decision to place solar panels on the rooftops then boils down to personal preference. It depends on how economically attractive installing the solar panels are and how much the residents value the environment. The X factor could be from the peer. If the neighbourhoods have installed the solar panels, it seems that people are more willing to follow. Research conducted by Alex Laskey, who gave a TED Talk on “How Behavioural Science Can Lower Your Energy” in 2013, showed that mob mentality is powerful for people to behave sustainably. In addition to research, give an example from life, Joann Cheng, one of our team members shared that her parents used to consider setting up solar panels because some of their friends and coworkers also do that.
Hong Kong, a counterpart of Taiwan
Hongkongers are facing a similar or even worse situation than Taiwanese. 7.4 million people live on a territory of merely 1100. Hong Kong does not perform better than Taiwan in terms of the energy transition. However, there are some areas Taiwanese could take for reference.
Hong Kong is now undergoing three pilot projects to assess the plausibility of future implementation of large-scale floating solar farms on reservoirs. Three floating solar power systems are placed at Shek Pik Reservoir, Plover Cove Reservoir and Tai Lam Chung Reservoir, respectively. In total, the annual electricity generation is equivalent to the annual consumption of 36 average households. Taiwan can also evaluate the feasibility of putting solar panels over the surface of reservoirs. Compared to offshore solar farms as mentioned above, floating solar panels on reservoirs should pose less ecological concerns. Other advantages include reducing algae blooms and the evaporation of freshwater resources.
Our opinions
Compared to the solar panel set on the ground, floating solar panels need to consider more factors, such as supporting structures, rust-resistant materials, and high-speed currents. Therefore, it is crucial to assess the environment in order to know if it’s suitable to place. Additionally, the development of new technology to make these panels durable will be key to the success of floating solar panels.
However, as mentioned, current regulations or guidelines related to the installation of rooftop solar panels are not clear at all, which deters solar power from popularization. The government needs to establish well-designed laws that can get rid of controversy coming from power distribution and wholesale purchase income for solar panels installed on apartment buildings.
Besides regulations, education is also necessary. Regardless of which type of housing people are living in, the understanding of climate emergency and the importance of transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions is always playing a key role in decision making on the installation of solar panels. The government of Taiwan needs to put more effort into promoting the utilization of solar power. For example, the government could issue documents like “Installation of Solar Panels for Dummies” that give a short summary telling why people should do it, what they can benefit from it, what procedures for the installation are, and how legal issues can be addressed when raised.
References
Writer: Joann Cheng, Ho Wan Cheng, Sophia Chueh, Kristen Lei, Shun-Te Wang
Editor: Ho Wan Cheng and Shun-Te Wang
