March 16, 2012
Taiwan

Wind power project could damage ecology off Changhua

By Zoe Wei and Lilian Wu, CNA, focustaiwan.tw 16 March 2012

A proposed project to develop wind power off the coast of Changhua County will affect the habitat of the Chinese white dolphin and migratory birds, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said in an initial screening Friday.

The developer, Fuhai Wind Power Co., noted that the government wants Taiwan’s carbon dioxide emission brought down to the level of 2005 by between 2016 and 2020, and hopes to install 600 offshore wind power generator units by 2030, generating 3,000 megawatts of electricity.

The proposed wind farm is located between eight and 15 km off the coast of Fangyuan in Changhua County, in water between 20 and 45meters deep. In the initial stage, it will comprise 52 generators and a sea condition monitoring camera. Commercial operations are expected to begin at the end of 2020.

Environmental assessment members said the proposed location is an ecologically sensitive area and the project will not only affect local fishemen but will also affect the habitat of the endangered Chinese white dolphin, as well as migratory birds.

In addition, there are other cetaceans such as the finless porpoise and the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin in the area, and the developer should not ignore this.

The developer should also conduct a public opinion poll of local residents, one member said.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/03/16/wind-power-project-could-damage-ecology-off-changhua/