Taiwan requires carbon footprints for solar panels
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
Taiwan’s Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) now requires manufacturers to report the carbon footprint of high-efficiency solar panels as part of a voluntary certification program.
BSMI updated its technical specifications for photovoltaic modules this month, adding the carbon-footprint requirement alongside stricter tests for mechanical durability and aging. Manufacturers seeking certification must measure their products’ carbon footprint using established national and international standards.
Crystalline-silicon modules cannot exceed 0.12 kg CO2e/W, and thin-film modules face a limit of 0.85 kg CO2e/W. BSMI will revoke factory inspection reports if production data do not meet these thresholds. This change follows a trend of incorporating carbon metrics into solar panel qualification processes, like France’s carbon evaluation system which links data to renewable-energy funding.
The new specification also increases the mechanical-load testing requirement to 5,400 pascals, simulating heavy snow loads, and introduces an accelerated-aging test equivalent to five years of outdoor exposure. These updates arrive as Taiwan aims to reach 20 GW of installed solar capacity by November 2026, and after Typhoon Danas damaged over 135,000 solar panels in 2025, increasing the need for durable modules. The PV Taiwan Plus certification remains voluntary, with specific government programs determining if certification is needed.
