The advice of the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) that the government improve its energy policies is a timely reminder ahead of a referendum on Dec. 18. The ECCT on Thursday released its annual position papers, which urged the government to improve energy transformation, talent recruitment and the nation’s English language environment, among other areas.
It cannot be a coincidence that the publication was released on the same day that President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) traveled to Taoyuan’s Datan Borough (大潭) to inspect construction of the nation’s third liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. Her visit has been widely interpreted as an attempt to counter a referendum question about relocating the terminal’s construction to protect a nearby algal reef.
The ECCT said it welcomes Taiwan’s commitment to reaching net zero emissions by 2050, but added that the nation needs a comprehensive energy transformation road map that includes “much more ambitious annual targets for the power sector, industry, mobility and buildings.” It also urged the government to speed up the roll-out of renewable energy generation by removing “already tough-to-meet local content requirements,” streamline procedures for renewable energy projects, and implement a holistic grid and energy storage plan.
As of the end of last year, renewable sources only accounted for 5.8 percent of the electricity generated or purchased by Taiwan Power Co, while gas-fired power comprised 40.8 percent, followed by coal-fired power at 36.4 percent and nuclear energy at 12.7 percent, while other sources made up 4.3 percent, the company’s Web site shows. While the government has vowed to produce 20 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2025, it is a questionable goal, especially as there are only four years remaining.
The government in December 2018 abolished Article 95-1 of the Electricity Act (電業法), which said that all nuclear power generation facilities should halt operations by 2025, as per a referendum held the previous month. Nonetheless, it did not forsake its ideal of achieving a nuclear-free homeland. It objects to a call for restarting construction of the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮), to be voted on in one of the four questions in next month’s referendum.
If the government insists on its policies of reducing coal-fired energy, increasing gas-fired and renewable power ratios, while phasing out all nuclear power generation units, it is questionable whether it can maintain a stable power supply when the nation’s power demand is continuing to rise amid an increasing need for chip production and digitalization. That is why Tsai cannot help but disappoint some environmentalists who are dedicated to preserving the algal reef ecosystem that would be affected by the gas terminal’s construction. Her administration cannot afford another power outage.
While inspecting Datan Power Plant on Thursday, Tsai had to convince voters and herself that the ecosystems would be preserved, as she promised eight years ago when the Democratic Progressive Party was the opposition. Instead of the algal reefs near the offshore terminal, Tsai underscored the terminal’s importance for the power plant and its importance to Taiwan’s power supply.
There are no perfect public policies. Some progress is made, some people are upset, but politicians should have the courage to admit their flaws.
Those in leadership should incentivize people when planning better futures, rather than resorting to intimidating rhetoric such as: “If we do not build this terminal, we will have to burn more coal.”
If politicians continue to make U-turns after acquiring more power, they risk losing their credibility, and the Datan coast will not be the last landscape sacrificed for the government’s patched-up energy policies.
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