New Power Party (NPP) lawmakers yesterday called on Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) to cease development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Waimushan (外木山) in Keelung.
The land reclamation project would greatly affect marine life and the livelihoods of fishers in the area, NPP Legislator Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
Despite far-ranging consequences, Taipower has failed to provide its own comprehensive environmental assessment plans, Chen said.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The necessity of reclaiming 18.6 hectares of land for the receiving station is questionable, NPP Legislator Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智) said.
The absence of experts on environmental and maritime ecology on the environmental assessment committee, which is to review the reclamation project on Tuesday, is concerning, he said, adding that most of the members are architectural experts.
The viability of the receiving station — which is scheduled to be completed in 2032 — is questionable, especially in light of a government pledge to achieve zero net emissions by 2050, Chiu said.
Taipower’s insistence on using a Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) as a stand-in service until a storage area is built on the reclaimed area is a demonstration of its obstinate refusal to consider how to minimize its environmental impact, independent Keelung City Councilor Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) said.
The company’s plans are incomprehensible and a death sentence on the diverse maritime ecology off the coast of Waimushan, which has existed for more than 10,000 years, NPP Keelung City Councilor Chen Wei-chung (陳薇仲) said.
All this only to create a temporary storage for natural gas, she added.
Chen Wei-chung tendered a petition with 2,000 signatures, on behalf of Keelung residents, to Ministry of Economic Affairs and Environmental Protection Administration officials at the news conference.
Ocean Affairs Council official Ko Yung-chuan (柯勇全) promised to forward their concerns to the committee meeting on Tuesday, adding that the agency would recommend an expert on coral research if needed.
Ministry representative Chen Ching-sheng (陳景生) also pledged that the ministry would assess the viability of using FSRUs.
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