Moea Defends Renewable Energy Plan After Control Yuan Pans Feed-in Tariff

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday defended its renewable energy policy roadmap after the Control Yuan issued corrective measures on Friday.

The Control Yuan in a report pointed to several shortcomings in the ministry’s renewable energy development plan, saying they could hamper the nation’s long-term progress.

Critics have said that the plan was hastily put together to meet President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy goal of generating 20 percent of the nation’s electricity from alternative energy sources by 2025.

Beyond Growing Pains: Germany’s New Normal in Renewable Energy Policy

In July 2016, the German government decided to abolish the country’s feed-in tariff (FIT) for renewable electricity generation. Instead, the government now plans to auction contracts for renewable electricity deployment to the lowest bidders.

The FIT is a policy that basically forces electric utilities to buy renewable electricity from generators for a premium price. Since 1990, the German FIT had played a key role in making the country a pioneer in the use of renewable energy. Why did Germany replace the FIT after almost three decades of unparalleled growth in renewable electricity generation?