Taipei, July 23 (CNA) Computing power, which depends on an adequate electricity supply, is crucial in assessing a nation’s strength, Pegatron Corp. Chairman Tung Tzu-hsien said at an artificial intelligence (AI) forum on Tuesday.
Speaking to media on the sidelines of a forum discussing how Taiwan can develop its information and communications technology (ICT) industry in the age of AI, Tung told media that computing power now determines a country’s level of development.
However, the use of AI and the production of AI chips require electricity, and the stability, quality and cost of electricity supply can affect a country’s economic development, he said.
At the forum, Dong again raised the issue of energy, saying that each country has its own industrial structure, and that “among developed countries, [few countries] The per capita electricity consumption is the same or higher than that of Taiwan, and the United States [of the few]”
“European countries such as Japan and Germany, which are highly dependent on the service sector, have per capita electricity consumption of around half that of Taiwan,” he argued.
According to data from the Bureau of Energy Administration, Taiwan consumed 276.52 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2023. Given that the population is 23.42 million, this equates to approximately 11,807 kilowatt-hours per capita.
According to Statista, per capita electricity consumption in the United States in 2022 was 12,702 kWh, Japan was 7,799 kWh, and Germany was 6,984 kWh.
The main reason for Taiwan’s high electricity consumption is the industrial sector, which “accounted for about 56 percent of Taiwan’s consumption” in 2022, Tung said.
He added that housing consumption was down just about 18% that year.
The levels will remain roughly the same in 2023, with industry accounting for 55.3%, residential 18.6% and services 17.5%, according to the Energy Department report.
“If annual electricity consumption increases by 2 to 2.5 percent, it will reach about 300 terawatt-hours in three to four years. If the cost of generating electricity per kilowatt-hour is different by NT$1, the difference will total NT$300 billion,” Tung said.
“The NT$300 billion can be invested in many areas, including research, education and healthcare,” he added.
Dong did not go into detail about the reasons for the rising costs of power generation, but was likely referring to rising costs due to the halt of nuclear power generation.
Tung has repeatedly stressed his support for nuclear power in recent days, saying earlier this month that Taiwan’s nuclear plants have operated successfully for 40 years and have lowered the cost of electricity generation.
He also said it would be a shame to shut down a well-functioning facility that would cost hundreds of billions of NT dollars to build today at the time.
Two reactors at Taiwan’s only operating nuclear power plant, the No. 3 Nuclear Power Plant, are scheduled to shut down later this month and in May 2025 after 40 years of operation.
Tung was recently appointed vice-chair of the new Climate Committee by President Lai Ching-te of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and has sparked controversy with his public support for nuclear power.
For many years, the Democratic Party has adopted a “non-nuclear” stance on energy issues.
(Allison Xiao and Jeffrey Wu)
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