Premier Lin Chuan today attended the launch ceremony for the Shalun Green Energy Science City project in Tainan City, saying that the future park will spur research and development (R&D) and serve as a demonstration site for green energy technology.
The Shalun park project, an important item on President Tsai Ing-wen's policy agenda, will help pave the way for the green energy industry, Premier Lin said.
If green energy is to develop fully in Taiwan and become competitive internationally, it must be supported by a cluster-based economy. For this reason, the premier said, the government chose the Shalun area in the southern city of Tainan as the site for the initial cluster.
The park's first objective is to boost R&D capabilities, Premier Lin said. Because green energy involves many different types of technologies, much R&D work will be required to form a cluster for the related industries. Academia Sinica will set up a branch in the Shalun park while National Cheng Kung University and National Chiao Tung University will station researchers there to facilitate academic collaboration with industry.
The second objective is to serve as a demonstration site for new technologies, new designs and new applications. For instance, the Shalun area's urban development plans will include special features such as electric buses that are recharged using wireless technology, vehicles with solar panel roofs, green architecture and a zero-waste environment. All of these futuristic visions come with great challenges as well, Lin said.
Establishing the park in Shalun also represents government efforts to balance technological and urban development between the north and south, as well as rural and urban areas. To make Tainan a popular city for high-tech professionals, the government will concentrate on Shalun when planning future R&D budgets and personnel arrangements for the green energy industry.
Minister of Science and Technology Yang Hung-duen, who also attended the ceremony, said developing new non-fossil fuel energy resources is an urgent matter, as energy shortages, global warming and climate change threaten the world.
Taiwan's energy policy for 2025 aims to establish a stable, efficient and clean energy supply system that simultaneously promotes energy safety and environmental sustainability while supporting the green economy. And the creation of the Shalun Green Energy Science City is a major step toward this goal, the minister said.
The planned park—to be built near the Taiwan High Speed Rail Tainan Station—will span 22.3 hectares and include a joint research center as well as a demonstration site. The joint research center will bring together domestic universities, research institutes, state-owned enterprises and the industrial sector to collaborate on a two-year solar power plan and a four-year wind power plan. Their focus will be on four areas of industrial need: energy creation (solar and wind power), energy storage (fuel cells), energy conservation (green architecture) and systems integration (smart grids).