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(Image credit: Getty Images) With the worldwide adoption of renewable energy, plus the fact that semiconductor factories require tons of watts, you'd think that Taiwan, of all places, would be awash with power generation of the green kind. Surprisingly, Taiwan doesn't appear to have power capacity for fab expansion, nor is it mostly green. As reported by Digitimes Asia , the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA) is pressuring the government to ensure a plentiful supply for the coming years in the face of an unprecedented "power siege."
The TSIA is led by TSMC, the world's largest chip manufacturer, and issued a statement asking the Taiwan leadership to address "urgent risks" with power stability and renewable energy supply. The article goes on to claim that fab clients are increasingly demanding the use of clean energy sources and highlights that the 14.1% renewable energy use by Taiwan's wafer fabs (as of 2024) falls well short of the targets set by the RE100 common initiative , of 60% by 2030, 90% by 2040, and 100% by 2050. TSMC, GlobalWafers, Asus, Acer, Pegatron, and Foxconn all participate in RE100.
Digitimes also quotes industry forecasts pointing out that should Taiwan's chip fabs reach the first 60% target in 2030, that would imply the industry would use 35 to 40% of Taiwan's entire output. If that power supply isn't guaranteed, fab owners and clients might start moving production capacity to other locations.
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Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/tech-industry/tmsc-led-semiconductor-association-begs-taiwan-government-for-clean-green-energy-as-demand-skyrockets-fabs-are-struggling-to-keep-up-with-power-needs#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.