High costs and low supply remain the top two reasons for a lack of corporately sourced renewable energy in Taiwan, according to a report launched by the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) and global corporate renewable energy initiative RE100 on Wednesday.

The report, titled Taiwan Energy Market Briefing: Net-Zero Plan and Aggregated PPAs, stated that high costs and low supply continued to be the main obstacles for companies with operations in Taiwan in procuring renewable energy, findings that are similar to the result of a survey conducted in 2020 by RE100.

The prices of renewable electricity are “very high” in Taiwan, the report said, adding that the cost differences between renewable and non-renewable energy are even greater for small and medium-sized (SMEs) enterprises, as they have less bargaining power than large companies.

The insufficient supply of renewable energy in the face of increasing demand is another problem for companies seeking to increase their reliance on renewable energy, according to the report.Government figures showed that renewable energy accounted for 6.3 percent of Taiwan’s total power supply in 2021, a slight increase from 5.8 percent in 2020, the report said.

While Taiwan’s government had previously committed to increasing the share of the country’s electricity generated by renewable energy to 20 percent by 2025, the report estimated that this goal was unlikely to be reached until 2026 or even 2027.

The report, which examines Taiwan’s energy policy and renewable energy market, proposed that companies be brought together to negotiate with energy suppliers for “aggregated power purchase agreements (APPAs)” as a possible solution to the current obstacles, despite acknowledging that the affordability of such deals would still be dependent on a decline in feed-in tariffs (FITs).

In response to the report’s suggestion, Taiwan’s Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin (???) said at the event that while APPAs would not necessarily cut down on electricity costs and could involve longer contract periods, they might allow partnering companies to achieve economies of scale.

He added he would ask the Bureau of Energy to look into it and brief him.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel