The Executive Yuan should stop construction of the coal-fired Shenao Power Plant by revoking all administrative approvals given since 2006, instead of trusting Premier William Lai (賴清德) on his word, environmentalists said yesterday.
Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower) previous Shenao plant in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳) was decommissioned in 2007 and demolished in 2011, but a proposal by the state utility to build a new plant passed an environmental impact assessment (EIA) as early as 2006.
The utility’s revised plan for the project also passed an EIA in May.
Image provided by Taiwan Power Co
Amid continued public criticism of the project, Lai on Friday last week said that the project might be canceled if CPC Corp, Taiwan’s project to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Taoyuan passed its EIA.
After the Environmental Protection Administration on Monday approved the terminal project, Lai yesterday announced that the Shenao project would be “stopped,” because the gas terminal is expected to supply sufficient gas to ensure electricity supply.
He cited an evaluation by the Ministry of Economic Affairs
Environmental groups welcomed Lai’s decision, but urged the premier to officially abandon the project through legal procedures.
The groups fear that authorities will find a way to revive the project after the Nov. 24 nine-in-one elections.
The plant’s construction was previously suspended due to opposition by locals, but Taipower this year revived the project by proposing an revised plan, Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association lawyer Tsai Ya-ying (蔡雅瀅) said.
To definitively shelve the Shenao project and prevent it from becoming a political bargain chip again, the Executive Yuan should repeal all administrative approvals related to its construction, including the 2006 EIA approval, in line with Article 123 of the Administrative Procedure Act (行政程序法), Tsai said.
The Anti-Shenao Plant Self-Help Group based in Rueifang likewise urged Lai to revoke the project through legal procedures, but also called on him to re-evaluate the necessity of building the LNG terminal in Taoyuan in waters that house algal reefs and precious species.
The cancelation of the Shenao project should not be contingent on the approval of the LNG terminal project, Green Citizens’ Action Alliance and Greenpeace Taiwan said in separate statements, urging the government not to commit another mistake by pushing through the terminal project.
To stabilize Taiwan’s power system and increase its flexibility, the government should devote more resources to renewable power development, implementation of energy-saving systems and “smart” electricity grids, the groups added.
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