The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Tuesday approved a strategic environmental assessment (SEA) on offshore wind energy development, in a major step toward developing renewable energy sources.
The government pledged to increase the ratio of renewable power generation to 20 percent of total electricity generation by 2025 to replace nuclear power, and wind power is expected to make up about 40 percent of renewable energy production.
To expedite wind energy development, the Bureau of Energy requires potential wind farm developers to acquire environmental approval by 2017, while an SEA on national wind energy development is needed as a basis for reviewing individual development projects.
The SEA review on Tuesday was aimed at establishing such a basis and clearing the path for commercial-scale wind farms. The SEA committee has earmarked 36 sites with large offshore wind power potential.
Most sites are off the coasts of central Taiwan, and 60 percent are on waters off Changhua County, the habitat of the critically endangered Chinese white dolphin.
The impact of wind farms on the white dolphin population and fishery resources was a main topic of discussion for the review.
There are only about 60 white dolphins near Taiwan and they can be generally found in water no deeper than 15m off the coasts between Miaoli County and Tainan, so it would be advisable to construct wind farms in deep water far offshore, the Forestry Bureau said.
“There are few studies of white dolphins, and government authorities have said they do not know how white dolphins might be affected by noise. The sound of wind turbines and construction noise might drive the dolphins away and threaten their survival,” Taiwan West Coast Conservation Association member Wu Hui-chun (吳惠君) said.
According to a study on marine mammal behavior by German scientists, they could be driven away by noise transmitted from as far as 80km, Wu said.
The committee decided that offshore wind turbines could not be constructed within 500m of white dolphin habitats, and construction noise must be kept below 180 decibel, while construction must be suspended if white dolphins are discovered near construction sites.
Offshore wind farms cannot be constructed near wetlands or ecologically sensitive areas either.
Meanwhile, Changhua County Environmental Protection Union secretary-general Shih Yueh-ying (施月英) said Changhua and Yunlin counties have been known for their rich fishing resources, but the government has ignored the industry for the sake of wind power development.
Developers could allow fishermen to become shareholders in wind farms to share profits so there would be less resistance to development, Taiwan Environmental Protection Union secretary-general Chen Bing-heng (陳秉亨) said.
The offshore wind power case is the first SEA approved development since the Democratic Progressive Party administration was sworn in in May.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The show, performed on the earthquake’s 15th anniversary, drew more than 100 spectators, some of whom arrived two hours before the show to secure a good viewing spot. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love
RSS