Legislators yesterday passed an amendment that would require some newly built, expanded or altered structures to install rooftop solar panels.
The amendment was one of several revisions to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條例) that were approved after being proposed by the Cabinet and sent to the Legislative Yuan in December last year to increase renewable energy sources.
New buildings that meet a size threshold would be required to design and install a specified capacity of solar panels on the building, the amendments say.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Time
The building owners would be allowed to use the electricity generated or could sell it to state-run utility Taiwan Power Co or private entities, as stipulated by existing provisions in the act.
The amendments were reviewed along with other proposals by legislators, but the revisions passed were based on the versions proposed by the Cabinet.
The Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the construction industry, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs would finalize the details of the solar panel amendment, such as the size threshold for new buildings and the type of buildings included.
The minimum required solar power installation capacity in the revision would also be finalized, while standards for exposure to the sun and the date the revision is to take effect also need to be decided.
Other areas covered by the amendments were provisions related to offshore wind power, hydropower and geothermal energy sources.
As technological advancements have overcome obstacles such as deep water, the amendment related to offshore wind removes a provision that says offshore wind installations could “not go beyond territorial waters” to expand the range of deployment.
Another revision allows water storage facilities to be used for hydropower generation, and another defined the overseeing authority and application procedures for surveying geothermal power sources.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from
The annual Taipei Summer Festival, which starts today, is to tone down its fireworks displays, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said on Monday. Fireworks displays are to be held at the riverside site in Datong District’s (大同) Dadaocheng (大稻埕) area on four days at this year’s festival, with the first today, and then on Wednesday next week, July 31 and Aug. 10, the department said. There were eight displays last year, with the reduction aimed at minimizing inconvenience to local residents, it said. The first three shows, which are all on Wednesdays, are to last for five minutes, while the final