Monthly News Review: August 2023
Victims of Green Energy: Offshore Wind Farms Causing Whale Strandings
Why You Should Know
In recent years, the number of stranded Finless Porpoises has multiplied, with five Finless Porpoises calves stranded and found dead in the waters off northwestern Taiwan within one month at the beginning of this year. As pointed out by Taiwan Cetacean Society, the cause of finless porpoise deaths is the construction project of offshore wind farms. It is the deepest pain in the hearts of conservationists.
The News
Due to Taiwan’s strained power supply and the need to tackle climate change, there is a pressing need for the development of renewable energy sources such as offshore wind projects, with four wind farms scheduled for completion by the end of 2023. However, Taiwan Cetacean Society is aware of the increasing number of whale and dolphin strandings since the commencement of offshore projects, with many of them being found already dead.
According to the Society, since Miaoli offshore wind farm was constructed in 2019, the number of Finless Porpoises stranded has increased by 83% (calculating the average stranding rate for the seven years before and after the year 2015 as the dividing point). In Changhua, the average stranding count over the past 7 years has increased by 233% (calculating the average from 2016 to 2023).
Whales rely on their hearing for navigation and communication. The noise generated during the construction of offshore wind farms has a severe impact on their physical and mental health. The threshold for ‘temporary hearing impairment’ in Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin is 160 decibels, and environmental impact assessments (EIA) regulations stipulate that the underwater noise threshold should not exceed 160 decibels. However, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) permits occasional noise exceedances during construction, with thresholds even reaching as high as 190 decibels. This means that the current EIA review process still exposes whales and dolphins to the risk of hearing impairment.”
On the other hand, the SEMI Wind Energy Industry Committee claimed that there has been a decrease in the number of whale strandings in recent years, indicating that whale strandings cannot be attributed to offshore wind farms. Furthermore, offshore wind farms are mainly located in Yunlin County, Changhua County, and Miaoli County, which are not the primary stranding areas.
The SEMI Wind Energy Industry Committee stated that the main reason for whale strandings is respiratory system issues, rather than hearing damage. In addition, Cetacean conservation should be considered as a comprehensive approach, including various factors such as climate change, marine litter, and fishing activities. Offshore wind farm development is merely one of these variables.
The SEMI Wind Energy Industry Committee also pointed out that the increasing number of stranding records might have resulted from the improvement of Taiwan’s marine ecosystem observation and reporting mechanism in recent years.
Our View
First of all, we should recognize that the Cetacean population in Taiwan is under threat. We should formulate a resolution to protect the marine ecosystem, rather than blaming renewable projects or conservation groups.
Strict and mandatory offshore wind power ecological survey methods should be established, and it should be explicitly required that Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for offshore wind turbines adhere to these ecological guidelines. We urge the Ministry of Environmental to incorporate these guidelines into the EIA requirements and urge the Bureau of Energy to include them in the offshore project bidding process. During the EIA process, all monitoring information by the development units should be made public or shared, and government agencies should integrate all investigation data. This not only contributes to comprehensive baseline surveys of Taiwan’s waters but is also the first step in marine conservation.
Taiwan has overlooked the environmental impact caused by underwater noise. According to the Marine Pollution Control Act, pollution activities are defined as actions that directly or indirectly introduce substances or energy into the marine environment, leading to or potentially causing harm to human health, property, natural resources, or the natural ecosystem. We urge the Environmental Protection Agency to actively establish rigorous regulations for underwater noise assessment.
We look forward to the simultaneous development of offshore wind energy and ecological conservation technologies. While the wind power industry can certainly address Taiwan’s electricity supply issues, it should not overlook the goals of ecological conservation and biodiversity. Neglecting these goals could create even greater vulnerabilities in the long run.
Further Reading
Offshore Onslaught: Industrial Wind Turbines Are Destroying Our Precious Marine Environment
The Transition of Incinerators in Taichung Arouse Residents’ Opposition
Why You Should Know
Incinerators play a crucial role in processing waste in Taiwan. However, over half of the incinerators in Taiwan have been operating for over 20 years and become less efficient. Moreover, as our economy gradually shifts toward Net Zero and circular economy, incinerators must undergo upgrades to adjust to our future consumption. Yet in this case, local communities have other opinions.
The News
The Wenshan incinerator in Nantun area of Taichung has been operating for 28 years, and the capacity of it dropped to 70% compared with its original design. Therefore, the Taichung City Government plans to improve the incinerator under the condition of the same capacity but separate the amount into two. The new incinerators will also serve as waste-to-energy power plants.
During the public hearings, many residents believe that the Wenshan incinerator should be closed rather than being improved. Their major concern was about the air pollution from waste incineration, even though the government claimed that the new measurements will be introduced to reduce air pollution to below harmful levels. Besides, as the population in Nantun increased significantly in the past 28 years, the residents believe that Nantun is no longer a proper place for incinerators, as their former mayor promised.
In terms of environment assessment, the government said that the plan is to improve the existing incinerator. Therefore, the construction plant only needs to pass Environmental Impact Comparative Analysis; Local residents, on the other hand, considering the government’s plan is actually to “rebuild” rather than “improve” the existing incinerator. Therefore, the government’s plan should undergo Environmental Impact Assessments, which is far more stricter than Environmental Impact Comparative Analysis.
At the same time, people in favor of the plan believe that the project will increase incineration efficiency and power generation efficiency.
Our View
When it comes to addressing the issue of incinerator rectification, the “Not-In-My-Back-Yard” (NIMBY) problem is often raised in Taiwan. How the Taiwanese government deals with this issue is crucial. Expanding the scope of climate-related actions reveals that the case presented in this news is not unique in facing this situation.
In the Taichung incinerator case, the key factors contributing to the NIMBY effect include health risks, information gaps between the public and the government, and a lack of trust between them. Therefore, it is vital for the Taiwanese government to establish an effective communication system that includes environmental and societal aspects under different time and spatial contexts.
Furthermore, there is an insufficient number of incinerators for processing business waste, and the cost of handling business waste is higher compared to general waste, leading to a situation where business waste displaces the incineration capacity meant for general waste. Moreover, not every city in Taiwan has the capacity to incinerate waste adequately. More incinerator projects and controversies are inevitable in the future.
Finally, preventing waste generation is the fundamental solution to the problem. We should contemplate how to integrate this principle into our daily lives.
Further Reading
Editors: Hui-Shan Hu and Lesley Chen
Proofreaders: Shun-Te Wang and Ho Wan Cheng