Authorities of Taiwan introduce new solar tariffs

• The draft FIT program is expecting approval before the turn of the year. Payment for large-scale solar systems is likely to fall by 2.2 percent. As for small residential installations, the reduction will probably constitute 0.34 percent. Only solar solutions based on highly efficient modules and those located on isolated islands will be granted with some bonus.

Taiwanese Bureau of Energy reveals a draft FIT scheme for PV plants. The new tariffs are expected to become valid starting from January. Earlier, the bureau has announced its plans for reduction of green power incentives. 

The lowest feed-in tariff, 0.13USD per kilowatt-hour, will apparently apply to utility-scale installations. This will constitute a 2.2-percent decrease compared to the existing tariff. The highest tariff of 0.19USD will relate to small (up to 20-kilowatt) photovoltaic systems for home use, which means the existing tariff will be decreased by 0.34 percent. 

Yilan-, Hualien-, and Miaoli-based solar projects will be granted with a 15-percent increase. Those based on highly efficient modules will be rewarded with a 6-percent bonus. For the installations developed under the program of Green Energy Roof, the tariff will be increased by 3 percent. 

Scheduled deadlines

According to authorities of Taiwan, the new tariff system has to get approval by the turn of the year. 

In 2018, the country’s solar market expanded to gigawatt scale. But in spring of 2019, the local analytical firm predicted a challenging year for the country because of the coming incentives reduction. 

Three months ago it was announced the authorities of Taiwan expected about 3.7 gigawatts of new photovoltaic capacity to be installed by 2021. A year ago, there were 2.8 gigawatts of PV generation capacity installed in the country. New 1.5 gigawatts are expected to be developed by the end of 2019, and another 2.2 gigawatts – during the year to come.