Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs and ITRI Visit Penghu County Government to Discuss Penghu Low-Carbon Island Plan

To develop Penghu into a low-carbon demonstration island, Tseng Tseng-tsai, deputy head of the Energy Technology Division of the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, went to the Penghu County Government on the afternoon of May 26 to visit County Magistrate Chen Kuang-fu. Regarding the central government's active construction of Penghu as a low-carbon island, Chen Kuang-fu said the county government will fully cooperate in promoting it, hoping that through joint efforts by the central and local governments, Penghu can be built into a low-carbon demonstration island with a resounding reputation.

Because the second-phase plan for building the low-carbon island is about to begin, Chen Kuang-fu asked Tseng Tseng-tsai to relay to the central government on his behalf the hope of securing more subsidies related to green energy transportation such as electric vehicles, which could play a good demonstration role in building Penghu as a low-carbon island. In addition, he suggested selecting suitable offshore islands for inclusion in the areas implementing the Penghu low-carbon demonstration island. Besides the original Qimei, Hujing, Tongpan and Jibei, Wang'an main island and the four southern islands of the marine national park such as Dongji could be added. If they can receive key support from the central government, it is believed that this would greatly enhance both tourism development and the low-carbon demonstration effect.

Tseng Tseng-tsai also pointed out that whether the low-carbon island can be successfully developed depends on the Taiwan-Penghu submarine cable project as an important key, because only through the submarine cable can Penghu's wind power be transmitted to the main island of Taiwan. In response, Chen Kuang-fu said that to help the Taiwan-Penghu submarine cable be built smoothly, he had gone to Yunlin County to visit Magistrate Li Chin-yung, thanked Magistrate Li for coordinating many times, and hoped that Taipower could strengthen communication and provide more explanation so as to gain public consensus as soon as possible and promote wind energy.

Regarding the future development of wind power in Penghu, Chen Kuang-fu expressed optimism and said he would welcome it. He also pointed out that wind energy development must be carried out on the premise of not affecting Penghu's beautiful bay scenery, and more importantly, a feedback mechanism beneficial to local residents must be established so that all county residents can share in the substantive benefits of wind energy development. At the same time, professional technical manufacturers can also fully cooperate with Taipower on the onshore cable grid and submarine cable portions and make overall considerations.

Also present and accompanying were Dr. Yang Ping-chun, deputy director of ITRI's Green Energy and Environment Research Laboratories, Dr. Chen Yung-sen, dean of general affairs at National Pingtung University, and Hung Tung-lin, director of the county government's Public Works Department, among others. They held extensive discussions and fully exchanged views.