《TAIPEI TIMES》Amendment to require solar panels on new buildings

Staff Writer, with CNA

Legislators yesterday passed an amendment that would require some newly built, expanded or altered structures to install rooftop solar panels.

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The amendment was one of several revisions to the Renewable Energy Development Act （再生能源發展條例） that were approved after being proposed by the Cabinet and sent to the Legislative Yuan in December last year to increase renewable energy sources.

New buildings that meet a size threshold would be required to design and install a specified capacity of solar panels on the building, the amendments say.

The building owners would be allowed to use the electricity generated or could sell it to state-run utility Taiwan Power Co or private entities, as stipulated by existing provisions in the act.

The amendments were reviewed along with other proposals by legislators, but the revisions passed were based on the versions proposed by the Cabinet.

The Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the construction industry, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs would finalize the details of the solar panel amendment, such as the size threshold for new buildings and the type of buildings included.

The minimum required solar power installation capacity in the revision would also be finalized, while standards for exposure to the sun and the date the revision is to take effect also need to be decided.

Other areas covered by the amendments were provisions related to offshore wind power, hydropower and geothermal energy sources.

As technological advancements have overcome obstacles such as deep water, the amendment related to offshore wind removes a provision that says offshore wind installations could “not go beyond territorial waters” to expand the range of deployment.

Another revision allows water storage facilities to be used for hydropower generation, and another defined the overseeing authority and application procedures for surveying geothermal power sources.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES