Taipei - German wind-power firm InfraVest GmbH on Monday threatened to quit Taiwan over what it claims is Taipei's reluctance to promote renewable power. InfraVest chairman Karl-Eugen Feifel told a news conference that unless Taiwan improves conditions for developing renewable power, InfraVest may quit Taiwan and consider looking for another country.

He complained that Taiwan's parliament had not adopted a bill on promoting renewable energy and the Taiwan Power Co's purchase price for InfraVest's power is too low.

In 2003, the state-run Taipower bought electricity from InfraVest at 2 Taiwan dollars per kilowatt hour (kwh). But the exchange rate of the Taiwan dollar to the euro has changed since then, and so Taipower should pay from 2.8 to 4 Taiwan dollars per kwh, he said.

InfraVest is the only private wind-power developer in Taiwan, while the other generator is state-owned Taipower.

InfraVest has 42 staff and has built 90 turbines on three wind farms, with a combined capacity of 200 megawatts and generating more than 500 million kwh per year.

The bill on promoting renewable energy has been stalled in parliament for six years, due to conflict of interests and disputes over how to provide incentives to renewable power developers.

But Yeh Hui-ching, director of the Bureau of Engery, said the government is committed to promoting renewable energy and will try to push the legislation in parliament to attract foreign investors. (dpa)