Taiwan's semiconductor industry is sounding the alarm. The Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA) has issued a rare public warning about critical power shortages that threaten the island's chip manufacturing dominance. The message is clear: without immediate action, Taiwan risks losing its competitive edge in the global semiconductor race.
Following extensive consultations with renewable energy, energy storage, and grid companies, the industry is demanding the government guarantee sufficient power supply over the next decade, particularly green energy capacity. Taiwan's chip producers need clear, binding commitments now, not vague promises.
Taiwan is falling dangerously behind
The gap is widening. Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturers lag far behind international competitors in RE100 progress. Facilities in the US, Japan, and South Korea have already met renewable energy targets—Taiwan has not. This isn't just an environmental issue; it's an existential threat to Taiwan's economic competitiveness.
The industry wants an Executive Yuan-level task force established immediately to coordinate cross-ministerial action and streamline photovoltaic project approvals. Regulatory red tape has nearly paralyzed green power acquisition, and time is running out.
AI-powered solutions for immediate stability
The industry is proposing concrete solutions. AI technologies should enhance grid stability through direct power plant supply models in high-consumption areas, giving science parks priority access. Smart grid systems using AI-driven predictive scheduling can prevent sudden outages that could halt billion-dollar production lines.
Large-scale energy storage installations must be deployed within major science parks and industrial clusters to create regional microgrids—critical buffer systems that guarantee uninterrupted production during extreme conditions.
Market reforms needed urgently
Taiwan's role as an AI data center supply hub is at stake. The government must optimize green power trading regulations now, allowing certificate separation for surplus electricity and maintaining time-of-use settlement methods to ease power management bottlenecks.
Policy stability is non-negotiable. Abrupt changes to transfer subsidies would derail long-term corporate investments and energy planning. Predictability matters as much as capacity.
Solar must lead, politics must step aside
Political disputes and bureaucratic delays can no longer hold Taiwan's energy transition hostage. Solar power—with its low cost and scalability—should drive the energy shift, with nuclear playing only a supplementary role.
Major Taiwanese renewable energy players, including Chailease, J&V Energy Technology, HDRE, INAEnergy, Shinfox Energy, Ta Ya Electric Wire and Cable, Hexa Renewables, Vena Energy, Formosa Solar Renewable Power, NGP, and GreenRock Energy, are already hedging their bets, expanding into Japan, Australia, and Southeast Asia due to domestic deployment delays.
The bottom line: Taiwan must treat energy development as a matter of national security. Following Europe's example of promoting green energy as a public interest is essential. Without decisive action on land use conflicts and science-based policy, Taiwan's semiconductor leadership will be constrained by fragile power infrastructure. The warning has been issued—the government must act now.
Article edited by Jerry Chen
