Green energy is one of the pillars of the "five plus two" innovative industries program. To successfully transform Taiwan's energy sector to achieve the goal of carbon reduction, reduce the nation's reliance on imported energy, as well as spur on domestic green energy innovation and turbocharge the green energy industry, the Executive Yuan on October 27, 2016 passed a plan to promote an innovative industrial ecosystem for green technologies. The plan encompasses energy production, conservation and storage, as well as system integration capabilities. Taiwan can look forward to green energy technologies emerging as a new engine that will drive energy sector transformation and economic growth nationwide.

Key areas

■ Solar energy: Taiwan aims to strengthen the local solar energy industry and develop an independent domestic supply chain. The goal is to build solar-powered generating capacity of 20 gigawatts (GW) by 2025, with total investment of NT$1.2 trillion (US$39.4 billion) and an annual industry output value of NT$340 billion (US$11.2 billion).

■ Offshore wind power: Build the required offshore wind foundations and heavy cargo wharfs to enable Taiwan's wind farms to become internationally competitive. The goal is to install approximately 5.6 GW of wind-powered generating capacity by 2025, achieve an annual generation capacity of 21 billion kilowatt-hours, attract investment totaling over NT$865.5 billion (US$28.4 billion) and provide 20,000 job opportunities.

■ Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) demonstration project: The installation of 3 million advanced meters by 2024 will drive growth in AMI-related industries and push cumulative production value to NT$41.3 billion (US$1.4 billion) from 2017 through 2024.

■ Construction of the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City: Tainan will host a new industrial innovation cluster in the city's Shalun area bringing together industry, academia and researchers as part of what will become a national hub for the research, development and demonstration of green energy technologies, as well as a showcase for Taiwan's technology globally, and create a world-class smart eco-city.