Taiwan has hiked feed-in tariff (FIT) rates for PV-generated electricity in the fourth quarter of 2021 to reflect rising raw materials costs over the previous three quarters, but has yet to finalize the FIT rates for 2022, according to industry sources.
Investors in PV power stations have suspended procurement of PV modules waiting for Taiwan's announcement of its 2022 FIT rates, which is expected to come in late December, the sources said.
Costs for PV modules and metal materials have risen by 50% and at least 30% so far in 2021, the sources said. The PV investors have urged the government to hike FIT rates to reflect the cost increases, and in response, the government hiked FIT rates by 6% for PV-generated electricity in fourth-quarter 2021, but the investors complained that the 6% hike is far from sufficient to reflect cost increases, the sources said.
FIT rates are key to return on investment in PV power generating. If 2022 FIT rates are hiked to reasonable levels, investors will continue to procure locally-made PV modules, the sources indicated. But if 2022 FIT rates are too low, the investors will procure PV modules from Southeast Asia because the cost is about 30% lower than locally-made counterparts, the sources.
Some of these investors have been in talks with LONGi Solar, Trina Solar, Canadian Solar, Jinko Solar and JA Solar, the top-5 China-based PV module makers, about importing PV modules they produce via a third country.
