Taiwan is considering building renewable power plants in nearby countries like the Philippines or Japan, and importing the electricity back home to feed the needs of its manufacturers. 

“We believe the green power that we import back will be cheaper than the renewable energy that we develop in Taiwan ourselves,” Minister of Economics Affairs JW Kuo told reporters on Tuesday, adding that the power could be brought back via submarine cables.

A major tech manufacturing hub, Taiwan joins a growing list of places looking to import green power to sustain industrial and economic activity while also meeting climate goals. At the same time, the fossil fuel-reliant island is in the process of shutting down its nuclear power plants.

Kuo said the island was inspired by Singapore considering solar energy imports from Australia, a US$20 billion plan that was granted initial approval by the Australian government earlier this year.  

“We will look for a country that allows the development of renewable energy, and we will get Taiwanese firms, not necessarily the state-controlled Taipower, to build renewable energy operations there,” he said, referring specifically to the Philippines and Japan.

  - Bloomberg