Taipei Times: Would you please talk about developments in the global energy system?
John Byrne: The current energy system is very large-scale. Down-sizing of the energy system is taking place, however, from very large-scale power plants to much smaller ones, called micro-turbines. This new technological direction is made possible by the development of the fuel cell, which uses hydrogen as its energy source and emits only water vapor. It is very environmentally friendly because it enables us to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and it's also very cost-effective. We believe that it will be the platform for the new energy systems of the 21st century.
TT: What are your proposals regarding Taiwan's Fourth Nuclear Power Plant?
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG, TAIPEI TIMES
Byrne: We are trying to encourage the minister (of economic affairs) at least to understand that there are many cost-effective options. And these options are based on new direction technology, not old direction technology.
TT: What are the possible energy options for Taiwan?
Byrne: The short-term option is to improve energy-efficiency. Energy efficient technology has been developed in the last twenty years. It saves roughly 40 to 50 percent of (current) energy (usage). So the first step we will suggest to the MOEA minister will be investment in energy-efficient technology, that is very cost effective. The second step is that we will suggest that the MOEA minister invest in new technology, such as fuel cells. You can use these as industrial technology, transportation technology, and building technology. This is the technology that will lead the way.
TT: Is nuclear energy the solution to the crisis of global warming ?
Byrne: Not at all. On the basis of statistics from Japan, the more nuclear power plants operated, the more the carbon dioxide emissions.
TT: Talk about the global trend in regard to nuclear energy.
Byrne: The trend in the US is toward small-scale power plants. The US has moved away from large-scale technology as a result of making its electricity market competitive.
Nuclear technology is actually an obsolete technology. The last plant completed in the US was in 1972. So the US has not developed this technology for 30 years.
In Europe, there is a similar trend. Germany has announced that it will close all of its nuclear plants by 2030, and will not use nuclear power after that. Sweden has followed a similar policy.
TT: So, which countries are buying this technology?
Byrne: Korea, Taiwan and east European countries. US companies are making a big mistake. They use the old relationships that they enjoyed during the Cold War era between Korea, Taiwan, and the US. They receive financial gain, but countries such as Korea and Taiwan will move ahead on the wrong technology platform for the 21st century. When Taiwan is reconsidering the project for the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, it must take into account very seriously the fact that no country in the world at present can treat nuclear waste properly.
TT: How do you see controversial projects in Taiwan, such as the project for the Pinnan Industrial Complex (濱南工業區) in Tainan County?
Byrne: The Pinnan project is a mistake. It is an investment in the wrong industries (steel-making and the petrochemical industries) that are declining worldwide. Such industries will be replaced in the next 10 years.
The Pinnan project is also an investment in the wrong place, locating polluting industries in one of the few remaining pristine lagoonal areas, the Chiku lagoon, which became the subject of global attention for the threat it posed to the endangered black-faced spoonbill. It's inappropriate to sacrifice such a precious bird and such a beautiful area for declining technologies. In addition, this is also the wrong time to be investing in heavily polluting industries. After all, we are approaching the era of clean industry.
I should also mention that, if the Pinnan Project were completed, it would increase carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent. That means that the project would almost make it impossible for Taiwan to sign up to the Kyoto Protocol (signed in 1997 by most countries, but not Taiwan, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to approximately 5 percent below the level of 1990 between 2008 and 2012). Taiwan will become one of the societies that actually damages the world's efforts to cut global emissions of carbon dioxide.
TT: What about the project for the Meinung Dam (美濃水庫) in Kaohsiung County?
Byrne: There can only be as much water as there is. You have to decide how best to use it. Building a new dam and diverting water to support these dirty industries in the Pinnan Industrial Complex is unwise. It would be better to preserve that water for clean technologies in high-technology areas, which will bring Taiwan more economic benefits and less disadvantages.
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