The government should work to attract “green energy” businesses to Taiwan and retain those already operating on the local market, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) said yesterday, adding that the nation should not depend on nuclear energy.
Tien made the comments after German firm InfraVest Wind Power Group, the only private wind power company in Taiwan, announced on Monday that it would withdraw from the local market if a proposed statute on promoting renewable energy was not passed.
“The statute governing the development of renewable energy is a regulation that would boost the economy and protect the environment, but has been stalled in the legislature,” Tien said.
PHOTO: LIN KUO-HSIEN, TAIPEI TIMES
The statute governing the development of renewable energy has lain idle in the legislature for six years, Tien said. Since it entered its second reading in January, no discussion of the bill has been arranged.
Many countries around the globe are aggressively developing renewable energies, Tien said at a press conference.
Tien cited Berlin as a model supporter of green energy. Since passing a law to cut costs of renewable energy in the national power grid, Germany has not only created the world’s largest solar power company and many wind power firms, it has also created 250,000 jobs, she said.
“Where is our nation’s green policy? Without passing laws, we are driving away green energy firms,” she said.
Tien said the government should not place all its hope on nuclear power, as the global supply of uranium ore was estimated to last only four to five decades.
“Considering the safety risks posed by nuclear plants — Taiwan is very earthquake prone — the government should weigh this matter carefully at tomorrow’s National Energy Conference,” she said.
InfraVest general manager Ma Weilin (馬維麟) said yesterday by phone that her firm was mainly considering pulling out of Taiwan because the prices set by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) were unfair.
“Since opening the Taiwan branch nine years ago, InfraVest has invested more than US$398 million setting up 88 wind turbines in central Taiwan,” Ma said.
But while Taipower purchases electricity generated by private coal-fired power plants at NT$2.7 per kilowatt hour and electricity generated by natural gas plants for NT$3 to NT$4 per kilowatt hour, “over the past nine years, Taipower has paid us NT$2 per kilowatt hour of electricity,” Ma said.
“It puzzles us that it pays about NT$4 for natural gas, which is a clean source of energy, but only gives us NT$2 when our energy is even cleaner,” she said.
Ma said her company requested Taipower pay the same for its energy as it pays natural gas power plants. Unless this condition is met, InfraVest’s losses would soon be too much to sustain, she said.
The Presidential Office yesterday shrugged off InfraVest’s possible withdrawal from Taiwan, saying the problem was not its responsibility.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) declined to respond to the company’s complaint.
Wang said that while Ma was very concerned about energy conservation and cutting carbon emissions, he was only responsible for laying down the general direction of policies.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs would be in a better position to comment, he said.
Asked to explain the government’s policy on renewable energies, Wang said it should become clearer at the two-day National Energy Conference organized by the Executive Yuan and scheduled to start today.
On whether the administration prioritized nuclear energy over green energy, Wang said this was a technical question that must be decided by certain government agencies and that the Presidential Office would respect their decision.
Wang said Ma “does not have any [specific thoughts on policy details] at the moment.”
Asked what the Presidential Office’s position was on the renewable energy bill, Wang said reporters should ask the Executive Yuan whether it supported it.
“This is a policy problem, which is the responsibility of the Executive Yuan,” Wang said.
Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said on Monday he would respect the company’s decision.
Yiin blamed the problem on the economic crisis, saying the company should seek help from banks rather than the ministry. He also said the company should have conducted a risk evaluation and feasibility study before venturing into the local market.
Once the proposed renewable energy bill clears the legislature, Yiin said he believed more companies would enter the market.
Infravest placed a half-page advertisement in the Chinese-language United Evening News yesterday saying the profitability of renewable energy not only concerned the company but Taiwan as a whole.
The company urged the administration to promote renewable energies because they are stable and clean and reduce reliance on oil.
The company said it had launched operations in Taiwan about a decade ago mainly because of its trust and confidence in the government.
More recently, the Ma administration has pledged to establish a 2,159 megawatt wind-power plant by next year, it said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS