McCain Pushing For Nuclear Energy & Taiwan Going Solar

October 8, 2008

solar energy in taiwn The U.S. Candidate Is Looking Back -Going Solar in Taiwan –Solar industry on island nation hopes to become Number One worldwide by 2015

by Dan Bloom

Taipei,Taiwan( RUSHPRNEWS)10/08/2008-- One bright spot among the many ideas for stopping climate change in its tracks over the next 50 years is the use of solar power to replace our reliance on CO2-emitting fossil fuels in cars, factories, homes and electricity grids.

While GOP presidential candidate John McCain called for the rebirth of nuclear power plants to power American electrical grids in last night’s debate with Senator Barack Obama, the public is torn. With the 1979 Three Mile Island accident still fresh in most voters’ mind, the public is still debating the safety issues involved. Solar energy appears to be much safer, in the long run, than nuclear power, but there are boosters on both sides of the debate.

But as solar power gains more and more adherents and fans around the world, one country is doing its best to try to become the Number One solar cell and solar panel manufacturing base on the planet: Taiwan!

Right now, Taiwan is the fourth-largest solar cell manufacturing country in the world, according to sources, and the industry there is expected to grow as solar energy becomes cheaper and cheaper, according to Jerry Lin in Taipei.

Three Mile Island nuclear energy power plant A two-day international exhibition held this week in Taipei, the 2008 Taiwan International Photovoltaic Forum and Exhibition, was aimed at promoting the solar industry on the island nation. One exhibit at the show was a solar panel-equipped truck, made by the Taiwanese company Everphoton. Such a truck can provide electric power in emergency situations when no main supplies are available.

According to a spokesman for the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, the recent show in Taipei featureed 150 exhibitors from around the world.

Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang told reporters at a press conference Tuesday that solar energy was a hot market and was growing by leaps and bounds.

“Taiwan’s solar industry is well established, except for polysilicon at the very top of the stream,” he said. “Based on our successful experiences developing the semiconductor and thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal-display (TFT-LCD) industries, I believe Taiwan will become the most important solar manufacturing base in the world. I believe Taiwan will become the most important solar manufacturing base in the world someday.”

Taiwan is now become the fourth-largest solar cell manufacturing country in the world, with a solar cell output of 545 megawatts-peak (MWp) last year, accounting for almost 13 percent of global production, Mr. Shih said.

According to Taiwan Photovoltaic Industry Association chairman Lan Chung-wen, grid parity — “the point at which photovoltaic electricity is the same price as grid electricity” — might be achieved by 2012.

Lan told reporters that the solar industry stood to benefit from the fact that one-fourth of the world’s population does not have access to electrical grids. “It is estimated that the use of solar energy will grow sharply in less-developed countries after 2012,” Lan told reporters.

Leading international companies participating in the two-day expo included Germany’s Q-Cells AG, the world’s second-largest manufacturer of solar cells, DuPont from the US, and Nisshinbo from Japan, it was reported. Leading Taiwanese companies participating included E-Ton Solar Tech, Gintech Energy Corp and Green Energy Technology.

In the U.S., the Three-Mile Island accident was followed by a complete cessation of nuclear power plants in the United States, and the further development of cheap natural gas. It was directly linked to an expansion of the environmental movement nationwide.

About the author: Dan Bloom is a RushPRnews political and environmental news columnist/reporter and a freelance writer from Boston, who has been based in Asia since 1991. He graduated from Tufts University in 1971 and has worked in media, public relations and education in several countries. He is currently doing research on climate change and global warming as the founder of the Polar Cities Research Institute. Write him at danbloom@RushPRnews.com

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