Taiwan PV industry laments strict regulations on farmland use

Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry Association (TPVIA) sees the tough regulations on using farmland to set up PV power stations as a hindrance to Taiwan attaining its target cumulative total PV installation 20GWp by 2025, according to TPVIA president Sam Hong.

The Council of Agriculture (COA) prefers fish ponds to farmland for use in constructing PV power-generating facilities, and sets a target cumulative total of 4GWp for PV power stations on fish ponds by 2025, said Hong who is chairman for United Renewable Energy.

However, the target of 4GWp is difficult to reach, as many fish pond owners are reluctant to rent out their properties, and it is also an issue building power lines between remotely-located ponds and local power grids, Hong explained, adding that only an estimated 1.0-1.5GWp can be attained.

For rooftop PV systems, the area of roofs available is diminishing, with the room for setting up additional rooftop systems estimated at 0.5-1.0GWp in total, Hong noted.

If large plots of farmland are banned from installing PV power stations, the cumulative total PV installation capacity in 2025 is estimated to be 8-10GWp, only 40-50% of the target, Hong indicated.