Experts yesterday gathered at an international forum in Taipei to exchange ideas on combined cooling, heating and power systems to create low-carbon communities.
Organized by the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), the forum was held at National Taiwan University, with specialists on energy supply and market planning management from Denmark sharing their experiences with specialists and academics in Taiwan.
Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shen (沈世宏) said he visited Denmark last year and learned how the country makes good use of renewable energy sources including waste-to-energy, biomass and wind.
He also said Denmark had found the correct balance between power supply and heating or cooling demand and that its knowledge and experience could answer the energy problems in Taiwan.
Else Bernsen, chief project manager at COWI A/S, an international consulting group for engineering, environmental science and economics in Denmark, said sustainable energy development should be balanced between reliability of supply, economic efficiency and -environmental sustainability.
Bernsen said the energy efficiency of current power plants was low, resulting in much of the heat produced being wasted.
Bernsen said combined heat and power development and a district energy supply system could help reduce carbon emissions and held advantages for households, including requiring less space for heating installations, requiring no gas installation security checks or oil storage tanks, limited maintenance and cheaper heating prices.
The shift in energy systems development in Demark started in the 1970s because of the international energy crisis, Bernsen said, adding that substantial research was required to find the proper approach.
Claus Andreasson, chief operating officer at Burmeister & Wain Enery A/S, said that according to a report by a Taiwanese academic, the energy efficiency of power plants in Taiwan stood at only about 40 percent, meaning that 60 percent of the fuel was wasted.
This also meant that 60 percent of the carbon emissions were polluting the environment for no reason.
Asked how the public could be made to accept higher energy prices for a cleaner environment, Bernsen and Andreasson said the government had to provide incentives, such as the tax on heating oil in Denmark.
“This is for you as citizens to decide,” Andereasson said. “We have decided, and we are voting for the political parties in Denmark that are deciding to actually increase the cost of electricity and the cost of heating.”
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS