The Ministry of Economic Affairs has not approved a permit for Wpd Taiwan Energy Co (達德能源) to operate an offshore wind farm near Taoyuan, citing opposition from the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) over aviation safety concerns.
The 350 megawatt project has passed an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and in 2018 was ranked No. 1 for grid allocations.
However, the CAA objected to the project, as it is close to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
Photo: Chang Chung-i, Taipei Times
“Passing the EIA is not enough, a project also needs departmental approval,” Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) told reporters yesterday.
“After a long assessment, the CAA has made a final determination that the wind farm would affect flight safety,” Wang said.
It is not the ministry’s place to address aviation safety issues, she said.
Wpd Taiwan yesterday protested the decision, saying that the late cancelation would sour sentiment among international investors in Taiwan’s booming green-energy sector.
“It was a big surprise and we are astonished that it is possible to stop the project at this late stage,” Wpd Group chief operating officer Achim Berg Olsen said.
“There are many investors who are about to enter the Taiwanese offshore market. They all have a big question mark right now,” Olsen said.
Green energy projects have highlighted the need for departments to communicate early in the approval process, Wang said.
However, she said that Wpd should not have been taken by surprise.
“All wind farms need the CAA’s approval,” Wang said. “It is just that in this case, when the CAA said there are concerns, the company persisted. That is the real problem.”
Wpd Taiwan chairwoman Yuni Wang (王雲怡) said that the CAA did not made its criteria clear and aviation safety was a “non-issue,” citing the firm’s own report that wind farms would not interfere with flights.
“They are killing our project with a two-page report,” Yuni Wang said. “All problems can be solved, but the CAA is not working with us.”
The CAA said that nearly 50 million people transit through the airport annually and passenger safety is absolutely an issue.
It has opposed wind farms off Taoyuan’s coast 23 times since 2015, it said.
Based on its support for green energy development and given that the proposed project was not to be built in an area where wind turbines are restricted, the CAA allowed the firm to pursue an aviation safety assessment.
However, the assessment said that turbines near the airport might affect aviation communications and navigation, it said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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