Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) yesterday announced the establishment of a cross-party “Renewable Power Promotion Alliance” to promote the use of renewable energy, which would install solar panels at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei as its first task.
Many businesses and academics have made great strides in promoting renewable energy and in supporting President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy of a “nuclear-free homeland,” Chen said, calling on lawmakers to support these efforts.
The announcement laid out the alliance’s code of conduct. DPP legislators Su Chih-feng (蘇治芬), Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) and Yang Yao (楊曜) are to serve as deputy directors.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The alliance’s first step is to lease the rooftop of a legislative building on Zhenjiang Street in Taipei to J&V Energy Technology Co, which is to install solar power panels on the rooftop, Chen said.
J&V chairman Jonny Chang (張建偉) said the solar power system is expected to generate 99 kilowatts of electricity, which would be sold to Taiwan Power Co at NT$4.9772 per kilowatt hour, based on a 20-year contract with the utility.
The electricity will be distributed to the legislature first and to other institutions if there is a surplus, Chen said, adding that an inauguration ceremony is to be held for the solar power system on World Environment Day on June 5.
Chen also addressed the dispute over offshore wind farms in Changhua, saying that developers should adopt low-frequency construction measures to avoid hurting Chinese white dolphins.
“I was an environmental activist, so I will not allow problematic projects to carelessly pass,” she said, adding that the alliance would continue to supervise the government and the developers.
Su, a former Yunlin County commissioner, said electricity generation using methane would be another key issue for the alliance.
“Pig farming, with its associated animal waste, has caused great pollution in Yunlin and degraded the quality of local agriculture,” Su said, arguing for the necessity of recycling methane for electricity generation.
“Both the people and the government’s policies are stepping forward, while the law is lagging behind,” Su said. “That is why methane electricity generation has developed so slowly.”
A site for methane electricity generation was categorized as industrial land and farmers had to apply for a change of land category before embarking on any electricity generation projects, Su said, adding that the regulations need to be revised.
In addition to the DPP members, KMT legislators Wang Hui-mei (王惠美) and Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), and New Power Party Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) are among the alliance’s 27 members.
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS