Town protests against wind farm 

REJECTED: The environmental impact committee advised against the project due to unaddressed impacts on local wildlife and private property rights.

Representatives from Changhua County’s Dacheng Township (大城) yesterday gathered in front of the Ministry of Environment in Taipei to protest a construction project that aims to install three onshore wind turbines near local private residences and aquaculture farms, urging the environmental impact assessment (EIA) committee to veto the project.

The developer proposed building three onshore wind turbines along the coastal levee in the township that would have a collective capacity of 12.78 megawatts.

Changhua Environmental Protection Union secretary-general Shih Yueh-ying (施月英) said that freshwater clams farmed in the township account for 70 percent of total production nationwide.

A symbiotic system has formed among local people, the ecology and industries of the township, and should not be disrupted, she said.

There are 80 private houses and barns within 500m of one of the three proposed turbines, but the developer only documented 12 houses, Shih said.

Debris from broken wind turbine blades could be blown as far as 360m, she said, citing damage to Taichung Port’s wind turbines by Typhoon Soudelor in 2015.

That is a real risk for the community given the housing density, Shih said.

Union president Hung Hsin-yu (洪新有), a local farmer, expressed concern over potential pollution by the wind turbines.

For example, five of the 20 turbines set up in the county’s Fangyuan Township (芳苑) leaked oil into aquaculture farms and caused great losses, he said.

Local residents also expressed concern that noises and shadow flickers of wind turbines might harm the mental health of local residents, as well as distress livestock and freshwater clams.

Local resident Chen Yi-hsien (陳益顯) said that freshwater clams are sensitive to stimuli such as vibrations from turbines and would become too nervous to eat.

The EIA committee reviewed the proposed project yesterday.

The county government said the developer failed to explain the necessity of building the three turbines and did not provide solid data on the turbines’ swept areas as required by committee members in the previous EIA meeting.

Although about 100 sightings of black-faced spoonbills were documented around the project site this year, the developer did not evaluate the impact of the project on the endangered species, it said.

The committee said that shadow flickers might not be solved simply by installing light-shielding facilities, as the problem could also affect the fish and clams in local aquaculture farms.

Although the turbines would be built on national land, the swept areas could be broad enough to cover private land, which would involve the issue of surface rights and should also be considered, it said.

As all three turbines are large – at least 150m tall – and expected to be set up near the coastal levee with strong winds, the impact of their vibrations on the earth embankment should be evaluated, it added.

The committee advised against the project and would send the proposal to the EIA Council for final resolution.

The developer can put forward more arguments to appeal the decision with the EIA Council, it said.