The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday demanded that the coal-fired Ho-Ping Power plant in Hualien County submit additional documents for further environmental review over its request to increase coal imports from Australia.
The agency made the remarks after an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Committee convened earlier in the day to discuss the plant’s plan to import more Australian coal.
The plant has been searching for new sources of coal since a self-imposed ban on coal imports from Russia and Indonesia’s ban on coal exports have reduced the nation’s coal supplies.
Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei Times
The plan to import more Australian coal would be necessary to maintain the plant’s operations, it said.
Over the past decade, Australia exported 42.4 percent of the world’s coal, while 43.4 percent came from Indonesia, 14 percent from Russia and 2 percent from South Africa, the plant said.
The plant requested more flexibility in coal sources to ensure a stable supply of electricity, as coal that produces medium to low levels of the particulate pollutant coal ash is difficult to source.
The plant estimates that the firing process of Australian coal, which contains a high level of coal ash, would lead to a one-third increase of bottom ash and fly ash byproduct.
It requested the coal ash cap be raised from 12 percent to 16 percent, adding that the additional bottom ash and fly ash byproduct would be reused by the nearby Hoping Cement Plant to minimize the environmental impact.
However, EIA committee members stated that as pollutants increase, the plant would need more electricity and vehicles to remove the waste, which would contribute to carbon emissions.
The committee added that it was concerned about the impact of heavy metal contamination on local health and the environment, as the amount of lead and cadmium contained in Australian coal is still not entirely known.
The committee asked the plant to submit a report analyzing the different types of coal and their respective environmental impacts.
To modify an already approved EIA, the plant would need to show that the total amount of pollutants would not increase when using more Australian coal.
If the committee approves the plant’s report, the plan would then need to be accepted by the EPA before being adopted.
LOUD AND PROUD Taiwan might have taken a drubbing against Australia and Japan, but you might not know it from the enthusiasm and numbers of the fans Taiwan might not be expected to win the World Baseball Classic (WBC) but their fans are making their presence felt in Tokyo, with tens of thousands decked out in the team’s blue, blowing horns and singing songs. Taiwanese fans have packed out the Tokyo Dome for all three of their games so far and even threatened to drown out home team supporters when their team played Japan on Friday. They blew trumpets, chanted for their favorite players and had their own cheerleading squad who dance on a stage during the game. The team struggled to match that exuberance on the field, with
UPDATED TEST: The new rules aim to assess drivers’ awareness of risky behaviors and how they respond under certain circumstances, the Highway Bureau said Driver’s license applicants who fail to yield to pedestrians at intersections or to check blind spots, or omit pointing-and-calling procedures would fail the driving test, the Highway Bureau said yesterday. The change is set to be implemented at the end of the month, and is part of the bureau’s reform of the driving portion of the test, which has been criticized for failing to assess whether drivers can operate vehicles safely. Sedan drivers would be tested regarding yielding to pedestrians and turning their heads to check blind spots, while drivers of large vehicles would be tested on their familiarity with pointing-and-calling
Whether Japan would help defend Taiwan in case of a cross-strait conflict would depend on the US and the extent to which Japan would be allowed to act under the US-Japan Security Treaty, former Japanese minister of defense Satoshi Morimoto said. As China has not given up on the idea of invading Taiwan by force, to what extent Japan could support US military action would hinge on Washington’s intention and its negotiation with Tokyo, Morimoto said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) yesterday. There has to be sufficient mutual recognition of how Japan could provide
A Taiwanese man apologized on Friday after saying in a social media post that he worked with Australia to provide scouting reports on Taiwan’s team, enabling Australia’s victory in this year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC), saying it was a joke and that he did not hold any position with foreign teams or Taiwan’s sports training center. Chen Po-hao (陳柏豪) drew the rage of many Taiwan baseball fans when he posted online on Thursday night, claiming credit for Australia’s 3-0 win over Taiwan in the opening game for Pool C, saying he worked as a physical therapist with the national team and
RSS