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.
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
RSS