Environmentalists on Friday protested a planned solar farm in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), saying that it would destroy a key leopard cat habitat.
The county government earlier that day conditionally approved an application to build the factory on an 8.3 hectare plot in Jhusen (竹森).
Leopard Cat Association of Taiwan executive director Chen Mei-ting (陳美汀) said the area is known to be habitat for the rare cats, and extensive development would severely affect the species.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Zoo
It would also affect local water flows and ecologies, Chen said, adding that government oversight was lax.
The county government’s decision came after an initial assessment of the project in August last year recommended its rejection.
However, local residents came out in support of the project during a hearing on nonurban land use on Jan. 26, while conservationists protested.
In its vote on Friday, the review committee agreed to approve the proposal as soon as certain revisions are made.
The Miaoli Economic Development Department said that the project was initially recommended to be rejected, as the committee found the details given by the developer insufficient.
However, the updated proposal discussed on Friday contained new environmental measures and review mechanisms, it said.
The new application proposed reducing the development area to 48.8 percent of the plot from 69.98 percent in the August proposal and increasing the preservation area to 21.34 percent from 9.12 percent.
The new proposal also showed that no concrete or asphalt would be used, and fences would leave a 15cm gap at the bottom for animals to pass through. There would be a gap between a 2m wide maintenance path and the panels to enable growth of microhabitats, which would be maintained without pesticides.
The least intrusive methods available would be used to install the panels, the developer said.
The department said that the project was conditionally approved in accordance with the Regional Plan Act (區域計畫法).
Contractors would be required to abide by the proposal’s ecological commitments, the department said, adding that it hopes to create a situation that is favorable to the environment, the renewable energy industry and farmers.
However, Chen said that Miaoli is known for its farming and natural environment, while the project would only benefit the solar panel operator and harm the environment.
The brilliant blue waters, thick foliage and bucolic atmosphere on this seemingly idyllic archipelago deep in the Pacific Ocean belie the key role it now plays in a titanic geopolitical struggle. Palau is again on the front line as China, and the US and its allies prepare their forces in an intensifying contest for control over the Asia-Pacific region. The democratic nation of just 17,000 people hosts US-controlled airstrips and soon-to-be-completed radar installations that the US military describes as “critical” to monitoring vast swathes of water and airspace. It is also a key piece of the second island chain, a string of
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck about 33km off the coast of Hualien City was the "main shock" in a series of quakes in the area, with aftershocks expected over the next three days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Prior to the magnitude 5.9 quake shaking most of Taiwan at 6:53pm yesterday, six other earthquakes stronger than a magnitude of 4, starting with a magnitude 5.5 quake at 6:09pm, occurred in the area. CWA Seismological Center Director Wu Chien-fu (吳健富) confirmed that the quakes were all part of the same series and that the magnitude 5.5 temblor was
The Central Weather Administration has issued a heat alert for southeastern Taiwan, warning of temperatures as high as 36°C today, while alerting some coastal areas of strong winds later in the day. Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門) and Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔) are under an orange heat alert, which warns of temperatures as high as 36°C for three consecutive days, the CWA said, citing southwest winds. The heat would also extend to Tainan’s Nansi (楠西) and Yujing (玉井) districts, as well as Pingtung’s Gaoshu (高樹), Yanpu (鹽埔) and Majia (瑪家) townships, it said, forecasting highs of up to 36°C in those areas
IN FULL SWING: Recall drives against lawmakers in Hualien, Taoyuan and Hsinchu have reached the second-stage threshold, the campaigners said Campaigners in a recall petition against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yen Kuan-heng (顏寬恒) in Taichung yesterday said their signature target is within sight, and that they need a big push to collect about 500 more signatures from locals to reach the second-stage threshold. Recall campaigns against KMT lawmakers Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) and Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) are also close to the 10 percent threshold, and campaigners are mounting a final push this week. They need about 800 signatures against Chiang and about 2,000 against Yang. Campaigners seeking to recall Lo said they had reached the threshold figure over the
RSS