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Wind Power News: Taiwan
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational mission to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law. The original articles, links to which are provided, may have additional links and photos and other media that were not included here.
Fishers from Yunlin county criticize wind turbine project
Yunlin County-based fishers yesterday called on the Wpd Taiwan Energy to build its proposed offshore wind turbines farther away from coastal fishing areas and to stop threatening local fishers. Wpd has been one of Taiwan’s major wind energy developers since it bought InfraVest Wind Power in 2016, including a projected windmill farm with 80 offshore wind turbines. The turbines would be located in waters 8 to 17km off the nation’s west coast and produce 640 megawatts (MW), the company’s Web . . . Complete story »
Stranded whales were deaf – raising more questions over offshore wind farms
As deaf whales are washed ashore in Taiwan, with hearing loss being the ‘primary reason’ for their demise, I ask the question: are stranded British whales and dolphins casualties of the offshore wind industry in this country? Practically every day brings new reports of stranded whales and dolphins around the British coast, the numbers are on the rise and nobody seems to know why. Ever expanding wind farms are beginning to dominate our coastal seas. Is there a link? I’ve . . . Complete story »
Beached whales’ hearing badly damaged: agency
DISCONCERTING FINDINGS: Scans on nine dead pygmy killer whales showed abnormal shadows in their middle ears, and they all had blackened livers. Medical examinations of several whales found that damaged hearing might be the reason they became stranded, the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) said on Friday, adding that it would set up guidelines for training marine mammal observers to help mitigate the effects of offshore development projects. The agency late last month received successive reports that whales were stranded on . . . Complete story »
Wind power developers miss deadline
Four offshore wind power developers yesterday failed to secure power purchase agreements with a favorable feed-in tariff of NT$5.8498 per kilowatt-hour for their six projects, as they did not receive approvals from the Changhua County Government and the Bureau of Energy. Yesterday was the last day for developers to seize the lucrative rate, as any projects approved hereafter would be subject to a lower rate at NT$5.106 for the next 20 years. The county government – which oversees the six offshore . . . Complete story »
Concern in Changhua over wind power
Changhua County Commissioner Wang Hui-mei’s (王惠美) victory in last month’s nine-in-one elections brought a change in local governance that has raised concern over possible increased political risk for offshore wind farm investment, although wind power developers can still secure power purchase agreements with a more favorable feed-in tariff of NT$5.8498 per kilowatt-hour if they receive permits from the local government and the Bureau of Energy, and submit the documents to Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) by Wednesday. Six offshore wind . . . Complete story »
Wind turbine in Taiwan’s Penghu relocated due to bad feng shui
Just before Ghost Month, it was announced that a wind turbine in Taiwan’s Penghu County is to be relocated because it is considered to have bad for feng shui (風水) for a nearby cemetery, reported the Taiwan Environmental Information Center (TEIA). Wind Turbine A-01 at Longmen is to be relocated 180 meters south-southwest of its current location on a beach because residents say it negatively affects the feng shui of a nearby cemetery. Chen Yi-Cheng (陳一成), Head of Taipower’s Renewable . . . Complete story »
EPA rejects Eolfi wind farm project plan
French energy developer Eolfi’s offshore floating wind farm project off the coast of Taoyuan was yesterday rejected by an Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) ad hoc committee, even after the developer proposed a 75 percent reduction to its development area. The project, named W1N, was planned by the French company’s Taiwanese subsidiary, Eolfi Greater China, on a site between 15km and 22km from the shores of Taoyuan’s Guanyin (觀音) and Sinwu (新屋) districts. Since a first meeting on Nov. 3, the . . . Complete story »
EPA discusses wind farm monitoring standards
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday held an expert meeting to evaluate the monitoring standards for offshore wind farm projects, at which an expert said that the standards should be backed up by more solid research on the marine environment around the project sites. The agency on Nov. 29 said that its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Committee had given initial approval to 19 projects with an aggregate capacity of 10.07 gigawatts. The committee has required developers to demarcate an alert . . . Complete story »
Seven wind farms win initial okay
The Environmental Protection Administration’s (EPA) ad hoc committee yesterday approved seven offshore wind farm projects proposed by Denmark-based Orsted Energy and Nantou-based Swancor Renewable Energy Co. The projects – four by Orsted and three by Swancor – are to be located off the coast Changhua County, which has become a competitive battlefield for wind farm developers. However, the ad hoc committee’s conclusions must still be confirmed by the EPA’s Environmental Impact Assessment committee. Yesterday’s approved projects bring to 14 the number of . . . Complete story »
Changhua wind farm project must pass second assessment
The government’s first-phase offshore wind-power generation project has been remanded to the developers, who have been asked to resubmit their proposal once they have more data on the project, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said yesterday. The Fuhai Changhua Offshore Wind power Generation Project had been referred to a second-stage environmental assessment due the project’s proximity to an Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin habitat and protected reefs. According to Articles 8 to 12 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法), a detailed . . . Complete story »
