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Thursday 17 September 2026

Circular economy tests material mastery and consumers' willingness to pay

The EU's Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR, Regulation (EU) 2025/40) has been in force since Aug. 12, 2026, underscoring the rising importance of circular materials as sustainability pressures intensify. Hsu Hsiang-jui, deputy general manager of the Plastic Industry Development Center, said the circular economy is driving five major trends: reduction and recycling, reuse, mechanical recycling, chemical recycling and circular materials.

Wednesday 16 September 2026

DIGITIMES Insight: Taiwan can power its AI chip boom — but not with green energy

DIGITIMES Intelligence observes that discussions at the semiconductor sustainability and energy forum during SEMICON Taiwan 2026 centered on two questions: whether Taiwan will have enough electricity to support continued semiconductor expansion driven by AI, and whether that electricity will come from renewable sources.

Wednesday 16 September 2026

Star Shining launches IPO plan as renewable energy assets reach 676MW

Star Shining, an AUO Group affiliate, signed an IPO advisory agreement with Cathay Securities on September 15, formally starting its capital markets process in Taiwan. The renewable energy developer said it is targeting a listing in 2028 after building and managing 676MW of renewable energy capacity.

Tuesday 15 September 2026

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs shares power grid experience at APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting

Vice Minister of Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) Chien-hsin Lai recently led a delegation to Beijing, China, to attend the 16th APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting (EMM). Amid the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) and high-tech industries and a shifting global energy landscape driven by ongoing geopolitical changes, Lai outlined Taiwan's approach to achieving stable power supplies to support industrial development.

Tuesday 15 September 2026

Taiwan's carbon pricing enters new phase with carbon fee, ETS on parallel tracks

Taiwan's carbon fee has officially taken effect, marking a major step in the country's efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, while the government is preparing to introduce an emissions trading system (ETS) in the coming years. Environment Minister Chi-ming Peng said Taiwan's current mechanism is closer to a carbon tax, with a fixed price designed to provide stability and encourage companies to cut emissions.

Monday 14 September 2026

UAE commits EUR40B to expand Germany ties in AI, energy and defense

The United Arab Emirates said it plans to invest EUR40 billion in Germany, or about US$46 billion, across artificial intelligence, energy and defense as it deepens economic and strategic ties with Europe. According to Bloomberg, the commitment reflects Abu Dhabi's push to expand its role in fast-growing AI markets while broadening cooperation beyond the US.

Monday 14 September 2026

Samsung, SK Hynix reject US$19 billion power prepayment as Korea speeds chip expansion

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix have rejected a proposal to prepay KRW25 trillion (approx. US$18.7 billion) in electricity bills, highlighting the financing challenge facing South Korea as it accelerates semiconductor expansion and the power infrastructure needed to support it.

Monday 14 September 2026

AI's energy demand ignites global nuclear rush, straining Taiwan's restart

A worldwide nuclear comeback, fueled by artificial intelligence data centers and semiconductor demand, is tightening supply chains and labor markets just as Taiwan considers restarting idle reactors.

Monday 14 September 2026

US finalizes anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on solar imports from India, Indonesia, and Laos

The US Commerce Department on September 11 issued final affirmative determinations in its anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from India, Indonesia, and Laos, setting dumping margins of up to 123.04% and subsidy rates as high as 173.70%, according to the department's International Trade Administration.

Monday 14 September 2026

Shihlin Electric eyes orders through 2029 as T4 plant starts in 2027

Shihlin Electric is bullish on continued growth in heavy electrical equipment and energy-related businesses as demand rises for Taiwan Power grid reinforcement, energy transition projects, and AI data center (AIDC) build-outs. The company said its planned T4 plant is scheduled to start production in September 2027, while orders on hand have already topped NT$60 billion (approx. US$1.9 billion) and are extending into 2030.

Thursday 10 September 2026

Taiwan EV charging operators face profit squeeze despite rapid network expansion

Taiwan's EV charging industry remains in a fiercely competitive, fragmented phase, according to Blockcert chairman Chang Chung-I. While charging stations may appear to offer an unattended business model, their operations involve numerous complexities that operators often discover only after sites go live, and a lack of operational management experience can result in substantial costs.

Thursday 10 September 2026

STMicroelectronics ties AI data center carbon cuts to power design, not location

STMicroelectronics (ST) recently shared its perspective on balancing AI growth with sustainability during a press conference in Taiwan. The company emphasized that controlling carbon emissions from AI data centers depends largely on internal rack design rather than simply building facilities in countries with high renewable energy adoption.

Thursday 10 September 2026

Google plans EUR13 billion Finland investment to expand data centers, clean energy

Google said it will invest EUR13 billion (US$15.11 billion) in Finland over the next two years, underscoring how data center growth, clean power, and local skills investment are becoming increasingly intertwined for global technology users, businesses, and energy markets. The company said the expansion will support its core services and deepen its long-running presence in the country.

Wednesday 9 September 2026

Google steps up green power purchases in Taiwan for 24/7 carbon-free electricity

Over the past half-year, multinational companies and semiconductor suppliers have pressed the government to reduce surplus power conditions. To increase the flexibility of green power transfer and matching, Taiwan Power (Taipower) has planned to launch Sandbox 3.0 in October 2026, which market watchers expect will help address TSMC's surplus electricity issue and add flexibility to Taiwan's renewable energy market.

Tuesday 8 September 2026

Renewable power shortage puts Taiwan's chip cluster under scrutiny

As semiconductor and AI infrastructure expansions elevate Taiwan's strategic profile on the global stage, mandates for a "green chip" supply chain are intensifying pressure on major manufacturers to scale up renewable energy adoption. An investigation by RE100 reveals that Taiwanese enterprises face prohibitive green power costs and severe supply constraints, leaving the island ill-equipped to satisfy its rapidly expanding industrial power demand.

Monday 7 September 2026

Exclusive: Taipower's new green power sandbox could ease TSMC's surplus electricity problem

As global net-zero efforts accelerate, major technology companies are setting increasingly ambitious renewable energy targets. TSMC has pledged to reach RE60 by 2030 and RE100 by 2040.

Saturday 5 September 2026

Exclusive: Taiwan's first tokamak to begin plasma testing by end of 2026

Fusion energy, often referred to as an artificial sun, has become a central focus of global sustainable energy development in recent years. However, despite nearly 70 years of worldwide R&D, commercial fusion power remains unrealized. This is primarily due to several critical technical hurdles, including heating plasma to over 100 million°C and maintaining stable long-term operation, developing materials resistant to high-energy neutrons, tritium breeding, and ensuring overall system reliability. These challenges underscore that fusion power relies not on a single breakthrough, but on a highly integrated system engineering effort.

Thursday 3 September 2026

KEPCO seeks US$18 billion from Samsung, SK Hynix to fund Korea's power grid

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has proposed that Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix prepay as much as KRW25 trillion (approx. US$18 billion) in electricity bills as South Korea looks for new ways to finance the power infrastructure required for its rapidly expanding semiconductor clusters.

Wednesday 2 September 2026

Energy and water: How to tackle the fab resource crunch

As artificial intelligence demand drives astronomical growth in advanced chip manufacturing, the semiconductor industry is hitting critical resource bottlenecks. Speaking at SEMICON Taiwan 2026, leaders from Ecolab and Edwards Vacuum warned on September 2 that continuing with current water and energy practices is unsustainable.

Wednesday 2 September 2026

US solar module capacity to lead by 2027, but cell and wafer shortages pose major hurdles

The US is rapidly reshaping the cost structure of its solar supply chain under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. According to a recent webinar hosted by Intertek CEA, the US-based solar advisory arm of British multinational group Intertek, new minimum import prices (MIP) and tariffs are driving up the cost of imported modules, paving the way for domestic manufacturers to achieve market dominance by 2027.

Tuesday 1 September 2026

Taiwan carbon fee joins UK CBAM qualifying list

Taiwan's carbon fee has been formally included in the UK government's list of Qualifying Carbon Pricing Schemes (QCPS) under its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), alongside major carbon pricing systems in the EU, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The Ministry of Environment said the move shows Taiwan's carbon pricing framework is now aligned with international systems and will help export industries respond to global carbon border measures while maintaining competitiveness.

Tuesday 1 September 2026

Foxlink, Yongwei to sell Shinfox stake, cede control

Foxlink and Yongwei Investment Holdings each held board meetings on the 31st and decided to participate in the tender offer for Shinfox Energy, planning to dispose of their Shinfox shares at NT$0.05 per share. The move would strip the Foxlink Group of control over Shinfox and reduce the financial drag from the renewable energy company's losses.

Monday 31 August 2026

Interview: Taiwan's National Atomic Research Institute eyes SMRs for AI power shift

As global net-zero efforts intensify, governments and major technology companies are investing in emerging nuclear technologies to meet the huge electricity demand from AI data centers and the semiconductor industry. Because nuclear power offers zero-carbon emissions, small modular reactors (SMRs) are drawing growing attention as a potential new power solution in the AI era.

Monday 31 August 2026

Musk tackles key AI power bottleneck with in-house turbine foundry

A move by SpaceX to manufacture turbine blades in-house could ease a global bottleneck in AI infrastructure, where power equipment is now as constrained as chips. If successful, the plan could speed data center buildouts, shift supply chains, and strengthen Musk's control over the timing of new energy capacity.

Thursday 27 August 2026

Taiwan, Germany map AI-led net-zero push for 2026

The 2026 Taiwan Sustainability Summit opened in Taipei on August 25, bringing together government representatives, industry leaders, and experts from Taiwan and Germany to focus on how digital twin and industrial AI can accelerate net-zero deployment in manufacturing, buildings, energy management, and rail transport. The summit closed with a five-point joint declaration, outlining Taiwan's next 10-year development blueprint.

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