TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Business Today held its ninth Green Energy Forum in Taipei on Aug. 13, covering topics such as energy diversification, power grid construction, and market liberalization.
The forum brought together industry leaders, government officials, and international experts to discuss issues that will define the industry over the next few years. The first question for debate was the durability of solar power plants in the face of natural disasters such as typhoons that strike Taiwan each summer, per Business Today.
INA Energy Chair Norman Tsai (蔡佳晋) said solar power plants have become more durable with an improved ability to coexist with local agriculture. Tsai said his company regularly conducts ecological surveys to minimize environmental impact and has reduced the density of scaffolding to support solar panels to avoid soil disturbance and better preserve local ecology.
Furthermore, such monitoring has shown that solar power installations can even play a role in supporting eco-friendly agriculture. In addition to providing supplemental income to farmers, he demonstrated examples of peaceful coexistence, such as one site in Chiayi's Budai Township, which has become a thriving bird habitat.
"Nuclear power once accounted for 10% of Taiwan's electricity generation, but do you know anyone working in nuclear energy?" asked Tsai. He stated that the presence of photovoltaic companies working with farmers has helped revitalize rural communities in these areas. This includes boosting employment and encouraging the return of young farmers.
Taya Group Vice Chair Liu Chih-peng (劉志鵬) said his company was founded 70 years ago and is primarily known as a wire and cable manufacturer. Now, Taya wants to become involved in green energy.
He said the group has developed "digital twin technology" to help companies pre-validate power plants and power grids and conduct simulations for various scenarios before implementing projects. Liu said this not only improves system reliability and functionality but also optimizes labor efficiency and accelerates product launches, achieving a favorable time-to-market effect.
Liu said that digital twins are not a new concept. His previous experience involved missile production at the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology. Without proper design, simulations, and verification on the ground, missiles would crash into the sea during a maneuver or encounter turbulence or gusts, resulting in losses of hundreds of millions of dollars per missile.
He cited examples such as grid scheduling, grid resilience, photovoltaic storage systems, campus power grids, and large-scale MW-scale UPS systems, all of which can be simulated on computers using digital twin systems.
Liu said power plants, power grids, and energy storage systems all encounter high voltage to some extent. Simulation can also reduce operational risks for personnel, and 5G technology will be introduced in the future to increase efficiency.
Hexa Renewables General Manager Wang Wen-wei (王文蔚) said Taiwan faces four major challenges: environmental change, economic development, national security, and social consensus. He called for scientific, rational, and practical energy solutions.
"Energy is now politicized, labeled, and even used as a political tool. This is a sad thing," Wang said. Taiwan society lacks healthy communication, and the public's understanding of green energy is insufficient, leading to misunderstandings and manipulation.
Wang said Taiwan should not rely on a single energy source. And while green energy is by no means the "sole solution," he believes it is an "important and necessary option."
According to Wang, Taiwan's main sources of power generation— coal, natural gas, and nuclear power — all rely heavily on imported raw materials. This means a military blockade would inevitably create a national security crisis.
Wang believes that only renewable energy is locally developed and self-sustaining. Furthermore, such capacity can be established in as little as six months, be deployed quickly, and be decentralized.
From a long-term perspective, Wang said that renewable power generation and maintenance costs associated with wind and solar power are similar in cost to thermal and nuclear power generation. He said the cost of wind and solar power continues to decline, defying the common misconception that the cost of renewable power generation is too high.
Synergy General Manager Chen Mei-hwa (陳美華) said that when natural disasters such as typhoons damage renewable energy sites, photovoltaic power generation is stigmatized. She said the most recent typhoon also caused the collapse of 3,500 Taipower utility poles. Forty percent of power outages in recent years have been caused by equipment issues.
She said that in addition to accelerating renewable energy, grid resilience is another issue. "How to effectively utilize and transmit electricity, effectively store electricity, and increase resilience is equally important," said Chen.
Tsai Chung-chih (蔡忠志), chair of SunPower Smart Energy, said that by 2024, low-carbon electricity sources exceeded 40% of global generation for the first time 2024, with solar and wind power accounting for 8%. Low-carbon power generation includes nuclear and hydropower.
Tsai said global purchases of green electricity have already exceeded 46 GW, demonstrating exponential growth in demand for clean energy. He said it is essential to provide RE100-compliant green electricity and renewable energy certificates to strengthen corporate sustainability and competitiveness and help companies enhance their brand value and improve power stability.
According to Tsai, current challenges in the domestic renewable energy market include land allocation and the installation of Taipower feeders. These challenges have led many of Taiwan's green power companies to seek opportunities overseas.
