Governmental Policy and Benefit Analysis for Biomass Energy: The Case Study of Taiwan

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present a comprehensive analysis of biomass energy utilization and production in Taiwan. This article gives a concise summary of the current status of biomass energy, and it also centers on the new/revised promotion legislation/regulations concerning biomass energy in the measures of environmental protection and economic/financial incentives. This article also presents updated information about the production and consumption status of biodiesel and the research and development status of bioethanol in Taiwan. Based on the actual biopower generation in 2008 (i.e., 3,433 GWh), the environmental benefit of mitigating CO₂ emissions and the economic benefit of selling electricity were preliminarily calculated to be around 2.2 × 10⁶ metric tons and US$ 1.7 × 10⁷, respectively. Finally, some recommendations for promoting biomass energy are addressed in the article.

Keywords:

• benefit analysis
• biofuel
• biopower
• energy policy
• promotion measure