Germany's experience in introducing legislation to promote the use of renewable energy deserves to be studied by Taiwan, which is over-dependent on imported sources of energy, lawmakers said yesterday.
During a press conference at the Legislative Yuan, the lawmakers underlined the urgency of Taiwan's need to develop renewable sources of energy.
"The development of renewable energy-related technologies deserves to be promoted in the near future because sources of fossil fuels are scarce in this country," DPP Legislator Lai Chin-lin (
When the DPP came to power three years ago, years of environmental debate came to a head when the government decided to scrap the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant. Since being persuaded to revive the plant, the government has promoted renewable energy in a bid to improve Taiwan's international competitiveness.
According to the Energy Commission under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, about 10 percent of Taiwan's energy could come from renewable sources by 2020 if laws awaiting approval in the Legislative Yuan are passed.
Energy-related laws under review in the legislature include Subsidy Regulations for Developing Renewable Energy (
Lai yesterday invited Hans-Josef Fell, a German Green Party legislator who has long worked to promote renewable energy worldwide, to the Legislative Yuan to give an overview of Germany's experience in passing laws to promote renewable energy.
In Germany, the Electricity Feed Law had since 1991 regulated the utility companies' use of electricity from renewable sources by introducing, among other things, fixed concessionary charges as incentives.
In 2000, the law was replaced by the even more radical Renewable Energy Law (REG). The REG now serves as the basis for the implementation of renewable energy technologies in Germany. It regulates the purchase of energy that has been produced exclusively from renewable sources. This is controlled by power companies that operate grids for general electricity usage.
According to Fell, key factors leading to the successful introduction of German renewable energy legislation included well-designed regulations on compulsory purchases and guarantees of fixed prices for two decades for electricity converted from renewable energy sources, with prices varying depending on the source of renewable energy.
According to Fell, Germany introduced the legislation due to environmental concerns and because of the country's limited supply of fossil fuels.
As a result of the measures, Fell said, more than 100,000 job opportunities were created in Germany's renewable energy-related industries in the last decade.
Having championed the cause of renewable energies for decades, Fell said that he was glad to see that Taiwan plans to pass laws to promote renewable energy.
"Germany is willing to offer Taiwan relevant information, in assisting the legislature to pass laws," Fell said.
Fell said that lawmakers should strive both to educate the public about the risks of reliance on fossil fuels and persuade the government to embrace new, global trends in the energy sector.
To explore possible cooperation between the government and Germany's Green Party on energy issues, Minister without Portfolio Yeh Jiunn-rong (
Yeh said the government hopes to turn Taiwan into a nuclear-free country by mothballing the three operational nuclear power plants and solving Taiwan's radioactive waste-management problems.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS