President-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) recently talked about a nuclear-free and carbon-free nation in 2025, but no one really knows if the incoming government is likely to continue with old economic development models or if it would be willing to internalize social costs.
A nuclear and carbon-free nation would likely be for businesses, as they would make more money and be able to employ more people, but because social costs are not internalized and because pollution from power generation affects people’s health, gaining public respect and approval is difficult and the environmental assessments of many development projects are therefore rejected.
Early this year, the Chinese-language magazine Global Views Monthly published a survey showing that 75.5 percent of respondents said that they would be willing to accept a loss of job opportunities as an indirect result of polluters being fined. Furthermore, 52 percent said that they would be willing to pay higher taxes to enable the government to push harder for the improvement of air quality and 73.6 percent said that they would be willing to accept increased electricity prices. People also wanted to see an increase in the proportion of power generated from renewable sources.
National Development Council chairman Chang Ching-sen (張景森) on March 25 told the Minister of Economic Affairs that a major cut in electricity prices would not be helpful to the incoming government’s energy and environmental policy.
He also said that if Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) has an operational surplus, that surplus should be used to be used to replace old units.
Although the legislature’s Economics Committee has not proposed that the cut be delayed, it has opened up a platform for dialogue.
During the 26 years that I have been studying air pollution in southern Taiwan, this is probably the first time that people living in the south have a real chance to push for the right breathe fresh air as people in the north do.
Since the government introduced its policy to push for more reasonable electricity prices, Taipower last year earned NT$61.8 billion (US$1.9 billion), a record high.
In 2003, the company spent NT$53.4 billion on six natural gas power generators that generate 4.3 gigawatts (GW) of power for Datan (大潭) power plant in Taoyuan from Mitsubishi.
Data show that it should only be possible to buy natural gas generators generating 2GW, but the economy is slow and the central bank has announced a cut to interest rates, which means that now is a great time to invest in clean energy for Taiwan.
If it were possible to buy natural gas power generators capable of producing 4.3GW, it could replace 80 percent of the generation units at the Taichung coal-fired power plant, or all the power generated at the Mailiao (麥寮) coal-fired power plant, and almost all cogeneration power plants.
Yunlin County and Taichung rely on local autonomy legislation to ban or restrict the burning of coal in two and four years’ time respectively, meaning that Taipower could use its profits to adjust its development plans to solve the problem of potential power shortages.
Natural gas power generation units are ideally built in areas experiencing power shortages, such as northern Taiwan, and central Taiwan once coal-burning restrictions come into effect.
In northern Taiwan — where the Hsieh Ho (協和) power plant in Keelung is slated to be taken off-line next year — a natural gas reception station could be built in Keelung harbor to provide gas for new generators. However, these generators could also be placed in the Jinshan (金山) or Guosheng (國聖) nuclear power plants, which are scheduled to be decommissioned in 2018 and 2021.
These two nuclear power plants have a dedicated harbor where a natural gas station could be built. In central Taiwan, the area for the planned Changpin (彰濱) power plant could be used, and its natural gas could be sourced from the natural gas station in Taichung harbor by expanding that station.
Although the coal-fired power plant in Taichung is getting old, it does not need to be decommissioned. It could be used as a reserve plant to guarantee energy security when natural gas supplies run low.
In addition to gradually decreasing power generation from large coal-powered generators, it is even more important to reduce pollution from carbon emissions at 52 private cogeneration plants.
Although the overall emissions from these plants are not as large as those from Taichung and Mailiao coal-fired power plants, many are located in densely populated areas where the pollution has a more severe impact.
These plants should turn to natural gas and their electricity prices should be adjusted to reflect the increased cost. Privately operated gas-fired power plants should be required to install denitration equipment and to expand their capacity factor from 50 percent to 100 percent, a quick way to increase gas-fired generator usage.
Central and southern Taiwan are the nation’s most polluted regions and life expectancy is significantly lower than in northern Taiwan.
In 2014, life expectancy surpassed 80 years in three of Taiwan’s six special municipalities — Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan, at 83.1, 80.8 and 80.1 respectively. In central and southern Taiwan, it fell below 80 years, to 79.8, 79.3 and 78.7 in Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung.
US academics studying the relationship between the concentration of PM2.5 pollution and life expectancy discovered that a reduction of PM2.5 concentrations of 10 micrograms per cubic meter increased life expectancy by 0.61 years.
This is consistent with the life expectancy and PM2.5 concentrations in Taiwan’s six special municipalities.
My estimates show that if all coal-fired plants turned to “clean” energy, PM2.5 concentrations in central and southern Taiwan would fall to the same levels as in the north and life expectancy in the region would increase to 80 years.
It can only be hoped that both the outgoing and the incoming governments understand this situation.
Most people are willing to pay more to reduce air pollution. The formula for calculating the price of electricity should reflect the passage of the Local Government Act (地方制度法).
Clean alternative energy is what the public want and that is what government officials should work toward.
Tsuang Ben-jei is a professor in the Department of Environmental Engineering at National Chung Hsing University.
Translated by Perry Svensson
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.