Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) yesterday announced the establishment of a cross-party “Renewable Power Promotion Alliance” to promote the use of renewable energy, which would install solar panels at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei as its first task.
Many businesses and academics have made great strides in promoting renewable energy and in supporting President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy of a “nuclear-free homeland,” Chen said, calling on lawmakers to support these efforts.
The announcement laid out the alliance’s code of conduct. DPP legislators Su Chih-feng (蘇治芬), Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) and Yang Yao (楊曜) are to serve as deputy directors.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The alliance’s first step is to lease the rooftop of a legislative building on Zhenjiang Street in Taipei to J&V Energy Technology Co, which is to install solar power panels on the rooftop, Chen said.
J&V chairman Jonny Chang (張建偉) said the solar power system is expected to generate 99 kilowatts of electricity, which would be sold to Taiwan Power Co at NT$4.9772 per kilowatt hour, based on a 20-year contract with the utility.
The electricity will be distributed to the legislature first and to other institutions if there is a surplus, Chen said, adding that an inauguration ceremony is to be held for the solar power system on World Environment Day on June 5.
Chen also addressed the dispute over offshore wind farms in Changhua, saying that developers should adopt low-frequency construction measures to avoid hurting Chinese white dolphins.
“I was an environmental activist, so I will not allow problematic projects to carelessly pass,” she said, adding that the alliance would continue to supervise the government and the developers.
Su, a former Yunlin County commissioner, said electricity generation using methane would be another key issue for the alliance.
“Pig farming, with its associated animal waste, has caused great pollution in Yunlin and degraded the quality of local agriculture,” Su said, arguing for the necessity of recycling methane for electricity generation.
“Both the people and the government’s policies are stepping forward, while the law is lagging behind,” Su said. “That is why methane electricity generation has developed so slowly.”
A site for methane electricity generation was categorized as industrial land and farmers had to apply for a change of land category before embarking on any electricity generation projects, Su said, adding that the regulations need to be revised.
In addition to the DPP members, KMT legislators Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) and Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), and New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) are among the alliance’s 27 members.
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by