To promote renewable energy installations in Aboriginal communities, the government should propose concrete plans to help them build a sustainable industry, instead of simply offering subsidies, Paiwan pastor Sakinu Tepiq said yesterday.
Sakinu Tepiq, who serves as chairman of an Aboriginal community reconstruction foundation, made the remark at a meeting about renewable energy development in Aboriginal communities and remote areas at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday, which was hosted by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗).
The Ministry of Economic Affairs in March released a set of guidelines governing subsidies for Aboriginal regions to install renewable power generation capacity.
Each installation proposal qualifies for a subsidy of up to NT$2 million (US$66,863) in the first stage, Bureau of Energy section head Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said at the meeting.
In the second stage, the bureau can cover up to 20 percent of a proposal’s total equipment cost up to a limit of NT$10 million, he added.
However, Sakinu Tepiq said that the government could do better than simply providing subsidies.
If the government wants to develop renewable energy generation and boost the economy in Aboriginal communities, it should promote it “as an industry,” as most people would remain passive if they could rely on government subsidies, he said.
Sakinu Tepiq, who has protested against nuclear power and nuclear waste since the 1990s, said he is encouraging people in the Lalauran community (拉勞蘭) in Taitung County’s Taimali Township (太麻里) to join the government program to install solar panels on household rooftops.
In addition to their existing agricultural and tourism industries, Aboriginal communities should break new ground to electrify their economy, so that young people leaving for cities would return to their homelands with hope, he said.
The exploration of other renewable sources, such as geothermal power on the east coast, might bear on the issue of land ownership, and the Council of Indigenous Peoples should more actively help Aborigines obtain the necessary resources, he added.
The council is less familiar with energy-related issues, but would protect Aborigines’ rights in line with the Indigenous Peoples Basic Act (原住民族基本法), council Economic Development Department Deputy Director Tsai Miao-ling (蔡妙凌) said.
While the council supports an industrial approach to renewable power development, it expects agencies in charge of energy policy to provide more assistance and resources, Tsai added.
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