Parliament on Friday approved the bill, which is aimed at adding between 6,500 and 10,000 megawatts of installed energy from renewable sources over the next 20 years, said the economics ministry.

Currently, Taiwan has only 2,278 megawatts, or 5.8 percent of installed capacity, from renewable sources, according to the state-run Taiwan Power Co.

The government will offer incentives and loosen regulations on renewable energy providers, and create a pricing mechanism for various sources of renewable energy, such as solar or wind.

Previously, providers had to sell electricity to Taiwan Power at two Taiwan dollars per kilowatt-hour, compared with eight dollars they recommended.

The bill was welcomed by industry watchers and is estimated to spur at least 30 billion Taiwan dollars in investment in the first year and create more than 10,000 jobs, the United Daily News reported.

The clean-energy industry is expected to generate some 100 billion Taiwan dollars in revenue within one to two years, it said.

The bill is part of the government's plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 2008 levels by 2016, and to 2000 levels by 2025.

-- Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this story --

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