Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs will limit the nation’s solar FIT cut to NT$5.8744 ($0.20 cents per kWh) in the first half (H1) of 2018 as the government seeks to speed up the pace of solar PV deployment on the island.

This rate is some 9% higher than that initially proposed in September, when the ministry first announced that the FIT would decline from its current rate of NT$6.1033 ($0.21/kWh) to NT$5.3848/kWh.

This reduced cut is for solar installations below 20 MW, and so cover Taiwan’s entire rooftop portfolio. For other installations such as ground-mount and floating solar, the FIT will be between NT$4.2429 and NT$4.6901/kWh as of next year, representing cuts in the range of 3.79% and 5.8% from current levels, the ministry confirmed.

System owners that participate in Taiwan’s government-backed green rooftop program ill receive NT$6.4/kWh if they install or adopt high efficiency solar panels.

Having long been a world-leader in solar cell manufacturing, the Taiwanese government is eager to diversify its PV proficiency and boost domestic installations. The island currently enjoys just 2% renewables penetration – a rate it hopes to inflate to 20% by 2025. To do so in such a short space of time, however, will require vast new quantities of solar PV capacity, with the goal of 20 GW by that date already set.

Cumulative solar PV capacity in Taiwan currently stands at around 1.4 GW, meaning even the nation’s short term annual installation goal of 1.54 GW would not be sufficient to meet its 2025 target.