Many corporations that have a negative environmental impact — such as Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), state-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan, Formosa Plastics Corp, airport authorities and chemical plants — have so-called “good neighbor” schemes, which compensate residents for losses caused by environmental degradation as a result of the company’s operations.
For example, the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County at one time provided fixed financial compensation to Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) residents using special electricity meters, which is why households in that area have more than one meter.
This type of subsidy was not only unfair, but also senselessly wasted electricity.
The current system provides a fixed subsidy and is equally ineffective. Each year, Taipower pays out hundreds of millions of New Taiwan dollars in subsidies under its “good neighbor” scheme, which does not improve the quality of life of local residents or the environment of southern Taiwan.
Hengchun Peninsula, which is in a tropical zone, is exposed to fierce sunlight, and most residents live in detached villas.
Rather than provide a monthly financial subsidy to each resident, Taipower should fund the installation of solar panels on the roofs of resident’s homes. This would increase environmental sustainability, reduce carbon emissions, and possibly add power capacity to the electrical grid. Excess electricity could be sold back to Taipower or saved with energy storage equipment.
The net result is that solar panels would make households on the peninsula less reliant on electricity from the national grid.
Furthermore, after a natural disaster, such as an earthquake or typhoon, households would have access to stored or sun-generated electricity if the power supply is cut.
The subsidies that Taipower provides to local residents are paid with taxpayers’ hard-earned money. By installing solar panels, Taipower would no longer need to pay local residents, who could then benefit from an abundant local resource: natural sunlight.
Taking this step would be an environmentally friendly way to benefit communities. It would reduce electricity bills and be far superior to handing out meager subsidies every month.
Yang Der-yuan is a professor in the money and banking department of National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology.
Translated by Edward Jones
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