The Ministry of Economic Affairs said Jan. 28 that it has lowered the price it pays for solar energy and will implement a tender process to determine approved suppliers.
According to the MOEA, the wholesale price for solar energy will be reduced to between NT$7.33 (US$0.25) and NT$10.32 per kilowatt hour. The new rate is retroactive from Jan. 1 and remains valid until the end of this year.
“The new price level is about 30 percent lower than last year’s rate,” said Chen Tsong-hsien, a section chief at the MOEA Bureau of Energy. “This reduction reflects the vast savings flowing from high-tech power generation facilities.”
Chen said the MOEA move is in line with those made by a number of other countries. “Germany has also decided to lower its rate for privately generated solar power by 23 percent in 2011,” he said.
The MOEA said that suppliers wanting to participate in its program will now have to participate in a tender process. Successful bidders will win the rights to sell their energy for the next 20 years.
But the MOEA said those suppliers who built solar energy facilities in Pingtung County following Typhoon Morakot in August 2009 will be exempt from the new rules.
Chen said to further promote the development of other green energy sources, the MOEA will increase its purchase prices for wind energy, hydroelectricity, biofuel and refuse-derived energy by between 9.7 percent and 32.5 percent.
