The President of Academia Sinica Lee Yuan-tseh (
Giving a speech at the opening ceremonies of a conference on sustainable energy and environmental strategies, Lee said that the continuing controversy over the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant (核四廠) was an issue regarding "share or not-to-share" rather than "build or not-to-build."
Lee argued that people should develop sustainable technology and preserve resources to share with future generations.
"We're living in a finite system," Lee said during his speech, adding that it was not sustainable for human beings continue their developmental path by using large amounts of fossil fuel the way they have over the last century.
Answering questions after the speech, Lee said that if the nuke project was halted, Taiwan must promote both wind power and solar energy in addition to stressing energy conservation.
Lee stressed that the US had not built a new nuclear plant for two decades and Germany was closing nuke plants one by one.
Lee's view was that the government should have invested more money and personnel in researching renewable energy sources, especially solar energy and wind power.
He said that the goal set by the Ministry of Economic Affairs -- vowing that by 2020 3 percent of Taiwan's energy will come from renewable energy -- was far too meager a goal.
"Ministry officials are too timid. Compare Taipower's efforts with those in Germany. The Germans have built thousands of wind turbines in coastal areas, but Taipower has only built two on windy Penghu island," Lee said.
Lee said that Taiwan would not suffer from electrical shortages as long as energy policy was well thought out.
"Decentralized energy production can be used in residential areas while large-scale centralized thermal power plants can continue to supply industry, which demands more electricity," Lee said.
Environmental Protection Administrator Lin Jun-yi (
Lin told the Taipei Times yesterday that the Ministry of Economic Affairs should be making a more strenuous effort to have 20 percent of Taiwan's energy come from renewable sources by 2020.
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