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Dec 20
Taiwan semiconductor industry raises concerns over green energy transition
The National Science and Technology Conference, held every four years by the Executive Yuan, is the highest-level meeting shaping Taiwan's technology policy. During the conference on December 16, 2024, Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association Chairman Cliff Hou expressed industry concerns regarding the supply of green electricity, urging the government to make concrete commitments towards achieving its phased goals for 2030.
Tesla's Shanghai "Gigafactory" is undergoing significant personnel changes as Chinese media reports indicate that Gang Song, the site's director and VP of manufacturing, has departed to pursue a position in the green energy industry with Envision Group.
As offshore wind and solar power mature, the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan (MOEA) has shifted its focus to geothermal energy as the next key phase in renewable energy development.
The Democratic Republic of Congo filed lawsuits against Apple in France and Belgium accusing the company of using minerals "pillaged" from the central African nation in its products.
Despite initial market jitters following Donald Trump's presidential victory, Taiwan's energy industry executives remain confident, with some reporting increased orders for solar and energy storage products in recent weeks.
Days after the US government announced fresh countervailing duties on solar products from Southeast Asian countries, targeting Chinese companies, China-based solar inverter manufacturer Ningbo Deye announced its intention to invest US$150 million in establishing a subsidiary in Malaysia to manufacture solar energy and storage products.
The Taiwan government's unclear position on renewable energy manufacturing has triggered a "race to the bottom" across its clean energy sectors in 2024. The recent controversy over Sino-American Silicon's production halt highlights solar power challenges, while the domestic offshore wind initiative faces even steeper setbacks.
The competition to dominate Asia's nascent floating offshore wind market is intensifying, with Taiwan and South Korea emerging as frontrunners while Japan's cautious approach risks leaving it behind in the region's renewable energy transformation.
Leading heavy electrical equipment maker Fortune Electric has seen 2024 revenue and profit surpass last year's levels, as its order backlog now extends to 2027-2028, according to company president I-te Hsu. The company expects exports to account for as much as 50% of its revenue in 2025, which will help boost its bottom line as exports are more profitable than sales to Taipower and other green energy products.
A research team at National Taiwan University (NTU) has developed breakthrough technologies for carbon capture and conversion. Their membrane-based carbon capture technology achieves up to 90% efficiency, while their electrochemical carbon conversion technology transforms CO2 into valuable chemicals such as formic acid and syngas.
Japan is advancing its ambitious space solar power program through foundational experiments designed to collect solar energy in space and transmit electricity back to Earth.
Sino-American Silicon (SAS)'s recent move to "prepay" vacation days at its Yilan solar cell plant has exposed deeper fractures in Taiwan's once-promising solar manufacturing sector, with industry-wide layoffs mounting and investors heading for the exits.