Environmental groups yesterday rallied in front of the Ministry of Environment in Taipei to protest proposed revisions to an approved offshore wind power project, saying the underwater export cables planned to run through the intertidal zone in Changhua County’s Fangyuan Township (芳苑) would disrupt local ecosystems and aquaculture industries.
The original version of the project passed an environmental impact assessment (EIA) in 2018, but revisions were made to change the project area, wind turbine unit capacity and locations of onshore points of interconnection (POI) for export cables. An EIA review of the revised version began in November last year.
The proposed revisions have provoked outcry among local fishers and environmental advocates, as the planned POI locations were moved southward and would lead underwater cables through the intertidal zone in the township, a region known for oyster and hard-shell clam farming.
Photo: Huang Yi-ching, Taipei Times
Local fishery worker Lee Kuo-chung (李國忠) said the construction of wind turbines in a previous project produced murky seawater and caused a drastic decline in intertidal species, leading to great financial losses to oyster farmers.
Local oyster farmer Hung Chiu-yueh (洪秋岳) said that oysters used to grow mature enough within one and a half years, but none could be harvested in his farms for at least three years since the wind turbine construction started.
Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association researcher Hong Shuo-cheng (洪碩辰) said the intertidal zone along the county’s coast extends up to 6km, which is unique and unmatched by any other coastline in Taiwan.
However, the government in 2017 included the region as one of the two “corridors” for sea-to-shore cables of wind power turbines without thorough on-site exploration and planning, he said, urging the EIA committee to veto the revised project.
At the third EIA meeting yesterday, concerns were raised not only about the project’s impact on local ecosystems, but also the fact that part of the proposed installed capacity has yet to be approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
The county government said the developer failed to assess the environmental impact of the project’s export cable construction on the intertidal zone and marine life, as the EIA of the changed cable routes was missing in the report.
The EIA committee said the proposed project area and installed capacity should agree with those specified in previously submitted documents.
The developer is advised to obtain MOEA approval for the proposed capacity before it sends the EIA report to the committee for review, it said.
The committee also asked the developer to include details on the scope, timeline and method of constructing sea-to-shore cables, as well as the construction process’ impact on the intertidal zone.
The developer should also refrain from setting up POI locations within the intertidal zone along the township’s coast and engage in more active communication with local residents, it said.
The committee concluded that the proposal should be revised and submitted with supplementary documents for another review by the end of November.
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