Thursday 16 April 2009

Halt Die Klappa

German firm InfraVest Wind Power Group, the only private wind power company in Taiwan, announced on Monday that it would withdraw from the local market if a proposed statute on promoting renewable energy was not passed...

because the prices set by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) were unfair...

“Since opening the Taiwan branch nine years ago, InfraVest has invested more than US$398 million setting up 88 wind turbines in central Taiwan”...

But while Taipower purchases electricity generated by private coal-fired power plants at NT$2.7 per kilowatt hour and electricity generated by natural gas plants for NT$3 to NT$4 per kilowatt hour, “over the past nine years, Taipower has paid us NT$2 per kilowatt hour of electricity”...

“It puzzles us that it pays about NT$4 for natural gas, which is a clean source of energy, but only gives us NT$2 when our energy is even cleaner”...

[InfraVest] requested Taipower pay the same for its energy as it pays natural gas power plants. Unless this condition is met, InfraVest’s losses would soon be too much to sustain...

While VftH is not qualified to judge InfraVest’s claims, it is clearly Danke schön, Auf Wiedersehen and Das ist mir furzegal time as far as Taiwan's government is concerned:


Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) declined to respond to the company’s complaint [but] said that while Ma was very concerned about energy conservation and cutting carbon emissions, he was only responsible for laying down the general direction of policies... The Ministry of Economic Affairs would be in a better position to comment ...

On whether the administration prioritized nuclear energy over green energy, Wang said this was a technical question that must be decided by certain government agencies and that the Presidential Office would respect their decision...

Wang said Ma “does not have any [specific thoughts on policy details] at the moment.”...

Asked what the Presidential Office’s position was on the renewable energy bill, Wang said reporters should ask the Executive Yuan whether it supported it.

Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said on Monday he would respect the company’s decision...

Yiin blamed the problem on the economic crisis, saying the company should seek help from banks rather than the ministry...

He also said the company should have conducted a risk evaluation and feasibility study before venturing into the local market...

Once the proposed renewable energy bill clears the legislature, Yiin said he believed more companies would enter the market.

In other words: Ich gebe nicht einen Schei

[update]

Taipei Times has a good editorial on the topic (see VftH here)

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