The 2022 renewable energy wholesale rate draft bill has been announced in Taiwan recently. In addition to adding marine energy and agricultural waste, the wholesale rate for small hydro, geothermal, and biomass power generation has also been increased. However, the industry pointed out that more support is needed for emerging sources of renewable energy.
In terms of the wholesale rates for hydropower and geothermal power generation in 2022, small hydropower generation will maintain two wholesale capacity levels. For capacity below 2MW, the wholesale rate will be increased to NT$3.8943 per kilowatt-hour and the wholesale rate charged for more than 2 MW of capacity remains at NT$2.8599. The rates for Geothermal not only increased but two wholesale capacity levels were added. For capacity less than 2MW, the wholesale rate was increased to NT$5.7736 and the rate for capacity above 2MW remains at NT$5.1956 per kilowatt-hour.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs pointed out that small geothermal and hydropower systems have been set up to enhance indigenous reserves and add a new mechanism for sharing resources with indigenous peoples.
However, in today's hearing on the renewable energy electricity wholesale rate and its calculation formula, the industry pointed out that the small hydropower wholesale rate should be divided into categories and recommended increasing capacity classifications from 2 to 4. Taiwan SHP Industries Alliance Executive Director Mary Chen believes that the criteria for small hydropower development are broad and having water flow and a gradient is enough. Therefore, whether it is in farmland water conservancy, sewage treatment, or tap water, small hydropower can be developed. Especially in Taiwan, where the total length of canals is 4,000 kilometers, abundant resources should be used wisely.