Groups urge more green energy use at TSMC fabs

SHALUN SCIENCE PARK: TSMC’s renewable targets of 45 percent by 2040 and 100 percent by 2050 were set in accordance with regulations, the park bureau said

• By Esme Yeh / Staff reporter

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Environmental advocates yesterday urged Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to promote Taiwan’s green energy supply chain and align its renewable target for plants at Shalun Science Park with its RE100 target.

The Shalun Science Park development project’s scoping meeting is slated to take place at the Ministry of Environment today.

The project site covers 506.9 hectares in Tainan’s Shalun Township (沙崙), of which nearly half is designated as industrial land.

Environmental advocates hold placards at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: CNA

The park’s annual power consumption could reach 23.7 terawatt-hours, surpassing New Taipei City’s annual power consumption of 22.4 terawatt-hours, environmental advocates said.

Given such massive additional power consumption and the substantial benefits TSMC would derive, the company should work with government authorities in developing more green power, rather than just being a passive green power consumer, the advocates said.

Citizen of the Earth, Taiwan deputy secretary-general Aries Huang (黃靖庭) said TSMC in its sustainability report pledged to increase its renewable use to 60 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2040 after it joined the RE100 initiative.

However, TSMC’s renewable target for its plants at the park is less ambitious, aiming to reach 45 percent renewable use by 2040 and 100 percent by 2050, she said.

TSMC’s sustainability report said the company’s renewable use for plants in Taiwan amounted to only 11.4 percent of its total power consumption last year, Huang said.

Given the anticipated additional power consumption, it would be challenging for TSMC to reach its RE100 target, she said, calling on the company to leverage its capital and market influence to boost green power supply.

Taiwan Climate Action Network director Chao Chia-wei (趙家緯) said that if the park’s renewable energy use reaches only 25 percent instead of TSMC’s RE100 target of 60 percent by 2030, there would be an annual power deficit of about 7.5 billion kilowatt-hours.

Such a deficit is equivalent to the annual power output of a large-scale gas-fired unit with a capacity of 800 megawatts or more, he said, calling on TSMC to incorporate renewable planning into its Shalun construction plans.

Climate Era Catalyst standing director Ko Chien-yu (柯建佑) said solar power generation, storage and charging facilities should be integrated into designs of the residential or commercial buildings, parking lots and other public works in the project site.

More green power should be deployed, given the park’s high power demand, he said.

The National Science and Technology Council’s Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau yesterday said TSMC’s renewable target of 45 percent by 2040 and 100 percent by 2050 was set in accordance with regulations on strategic environmental assessments.

Renewable energy use would be raised by 25 percent of the previous year’s actual power consumption every year, once the advanced integrated circuit production process at the park becomes scalable, it said.

The bureau would also assist park tenants in installing rooftop solar systems, as well as apply low-carbon, smart power grid to the park’s public facilities, it added.