The Yunlin County Government last week announced measures to encourage the solar power industry to help poultry farmers construct enclosed, solar-paneled poultry houses amid the ongoing bird flu crisis to lessen farmers’ financial burden.
The Council of Agriculture announced in June that farms affected by avian flu could only resume poultry farming after enclosing their facilities to reduce exposure to viruses and migratory birds.
As of June next year, all land fowl must be housed in enclosed or non-open facilities to prevent avian flu outbreaks.
However, such facilities cost about NT$11,000 to NT$15,000 (US$333 to US$454) per ping (3.3m2), which is financially draining for farmers, the county government said.
To assist farmers, the county government has initiated a program to enable cooperation between solar power companies and poultry farms to build solar-paneled poultry houses that could produce more than 30MW of electricity.
Electricity generated by the poultry houses could be sold direct to Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) at NT$5 per kW without a bidding process, which is higher than the prices agreed by normal solar bids, the county government said.
Under the program, a solar power company and a poultry farm should sign a 20-year contract. The two parties could cooperate by building solar-paneled poultry houses and collect the revenue of the electricity sales until the seventh year, when the company pays the farm owner 3 percent of the revenue.
Alternatively, farmers could share the building costs and profits of the solar-paneled facility with power companies, the county government said.
The county government said that 402 farms were affected by avian flu outbreaks this year and 85 percent of them would benefit from the program.
The program is the first in the nation to combine the solar power industry and poultry farming, and was approved by the central government last month, the county government said, adding that the long daylight hours in the county are advantageous to the development of the business.
Separately, the council has also agreed to the Taitung County Government’s proposal to relax the poultry house regulations in the county to allow free-range farming to continue.
Most of the nation’s free-range chickens are supplied by Taitung and the free-range chickens, by definition, can only be raised in an open environment. It is practically impossible to enclose farms that are larger than one hectare, the county government said.
The council consented to Taitung poultry farmer’s requests to enclose only feeding areas and poultry houses, while leaving the roaming areas unchanged, the county government said.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition