The ECCT LCI on 18 Dec. 2013 arranged an interview for the United Daily News andSolvent GmbH for "Citizen Wind Farm" investment and development in Germany and Taiwan.  A brief note of the interview is as follows.  The full report will be released in January 2014 on the UDN newspaper.

Taiwan is an excellent location for wind energy, with some of the best wind resources in the world. These good wind resources make onshore wind energy in Taiwan highly competitive.  Wind energy currently costs between NT$ 2- 2.6 per unit of electricity while other means of generation, mainly by fossil fuels, cost on average NT$3.04  per unit with a tendency to rise.

Costs for wind energy do not depend on the cost of imported fuel, and will remain stable or may go down with newer technologies.  With a look to the future the significant contribution of windenergy in meeting Taiwan's energy needs should be considered.

Technically, even within Taiwan's independent ("island") electricity system, a significant contribution by wind energy is possible due to new windfarm control technologies that keep the electricity grid stable.  Windfarms can even provide reserve power to the grid.  In Europe, many successful experiences with turbines operating in an isolated electrical system that Taiwn can adopt.  Spain is a good example of such an "island" system with a comparable generating capacity to Taiwan, where windpower has supplied up to 61 percent of total energy while maintaining a stable grid.

The major challenge in Taiwan is the limited availability of land.  A policy towards greater use of windenergy will mean turbines closer to residential areas.  In Germany, but also in other countries in Europe, there is good experience in this respect with so called community windfarms.

Communities participate in the development of windfarms and receive direct financial benefits from it.  This approach, although slower, helps with the acceptance.  Wind energy is also a great provider of local employment.