Taiwan to require rooftop solar panels on large new buildings in August

Taipei, Jan. 22 (CNA) Large new buildings with a floor area of more than 1,000 square meters will be required to install rooftop solar panels starting Aug. 1 as part of efforts to reduce carbon emissions and pollution, Vice Economics Minister Lai Chien-hsin (賴建信) said Thursday.

The regulation is one of several diversified green energy measures for 2026, which include expanding household rooftop solar installations to add 200 megawatts of capacity this year, Lai said at the sixth National Climate Change Committee meeting.

The government also plans to increase offshore wind financing guarantees to NT$156 billion (US$4.9 billion), allocate NT$400 million for 20 community-scale disaster-resilient projects, and set aside another NT$1.5 billion for industrial-scale energy storage, Lai said.

On current achievements, Lai said the emissions coefficient for power generation has continued to decline since recording 0.494 in 2023, reaching an estimated 0.459 in 2025.

Meanwhile, air pollutant emissions from Taichung and Hsingta power plants have dropped by 80 percent since 2016, he noted.

In 2025, Taiwan added 2.6 gigawatts of green energy capacity and achieved deep energy savings of 10.895 million kilowatt-hours, equivalent to the annual generation of two coal-fired units at Dalin Power Plant, while the nationwide installation of energy storage capacity has reached 1.8 gigawatts, up 50 percent from 2024.

As for carbon emissions reduction in the manufacturing sector, Lai said emissions in 2025 are estimated to have been 138 million metric tons, below the target of 144 million tons.

Looking ahead, he said artificial intelligence will be introduced in 2026 to maximize energy efficiency, with the aim of reducing emissions to 117.4 million tons by 2030.