TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan will require large new buildings to install rooftop solar power systems, as part of a broader push to cut carbon emissions and accelerate the expansion of renewable energy.
At the sixth National Climate Change Committee meeting on Thursday, Vice Economics Minister Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信) said Taiwan will continue advancing carbon reduction and pollution control measures, per CNA. This year’s energy policy will focus on four key areas: system optimization, regulatory adjustments, financial support, and the promotion of diversified green energy systems.
New buildings with a floor area of at least 1,000 square meters will be required to install rooftop solar power systems starting Aug. 1. The government will expand residential rooftop installations, with an estimated 200 MW to be added this year.
Vice Interior Minister Tung Chien-hung (董建宏) said that expansions and renovations that increase the rooftop area to 1,000 square meters or more must also install solar power generation systems. Electricity generated by rooftop solar panels should be used first for common areas of the building, a measure projected to add around 660 MW of installed capacity annually.
Lai said the emissions coefficient for power generation last year was estimated at 0.459, continuing a downward trend from 0.494 in 2023. He said that air pollutant emissions from Taichung and Hsinta power plants have fallen by 80% since 2016.
Green energy capacity increased by an estimated 2.6 GW last year. The country has achieved deep energy savings of 10.9 billion kilowatt-hours, equivalent to the annual power generation of two coal-fired units at the Dalin Power Plant.
Grid resilience has progressed ahead of schedule, with key regional and community-focused projects slated for completion by 2028. Nationwide energy storage capacity has reached 1.8 GW, a 50% increase from 2024.
This year, artificial intelligence tools will be introduced to further maximize energy savings and emissions reductions, with a longer-term goal of cutting emissions to 117.4 million tonnes by 2030.
