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Facing the solar power conflict head-on: where is our way out?

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Citizens of the Earth / Facing the solar power conflict, where is our way out?

Text / Tsai Hui-hsun (Director of the Citizens of the Earth Foundation)

Two recent reports by Newsmarket on fishery-solar co-existence fairly completely present the aquaculture sector's doubts and worries about the fishery-solar co-existence policy. The sharp shrinkage of aquaculture area, the lack of empirical evidence on output and quality, and tenant farmers' fear of being let out of their contracts and thus not daring to object... these are all urgent and important problems.

Looking at the solar power disputes that break out frequently across Taiwan, China, whether it is co-existence solar that tries to combine farming and fishing operations, or land-conversion-type solar zones large and small, all have the problem of crowding out ecological environments and competing with farming and fishing industries. At bottom, the problem lies in this: "the current solar power installation procedure completely lacks assessment of environmental and social impact, the process also lacks information disclosure and citizen participation, and the state never clearly explains how much solar power we actually need and how to choose suitable sites."

Even though the policy declares "farming and fishing first, green energy second," because of the lack of legal mechanisms, most green energy operators, driven by profit, forcefully enter farming and fishing villages and public land, and solar power rides roughshod over rural areas, ecology and culture. These highlight that solar power development needs more systematic, comprehensive planning to resolve these conflicts and contradictions, and moreover needs discussion and dialogue with stakeholders and society to seek consensus as far as possible.

The government should establish an "environmental and social review mechanism," using scientific surveys and data to examine locational issues and countermeasures, and to expand the space for citizen participation. The photo shows fish ponds in Qigu, Tainan (provided by the Citizens of the Earth Foundation, photographed by Fu Chih-nan)

The government should concretely explain a reasonable green power promotion strategy and respond to social doubts

First, Taiwan, China currently sets the goal that renewable energy should account for 20% of power generation by 2025, of which the rooftop solar installation target is 6GW and ground-mounted solar is 14GW, estimated to require 14,000 hectares of land. So where should this land be located? What is the impact on the environment and industry?

Even more, in order to meet the 2050 national NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) carbon reduction target, and even to comply with the global goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C, while also taking into account the food self-sufficiency rate and nature conservation goals, how much solar power can our land and environment accommodate?

All of this requires the Ministry of Economic Affairs and relevant agencies to conduct scientific surveys and assessments, and to engage in dialogue with society, concretely explaining the nation's long-term and reasonable energy transition goals and promotion strategy, and responding to society's worries about the destruction of the environment and industry.

The central government should screen out less controversial low-sensitivity areas and help local governments give priority to selecting them

Second, in promoting solar power, central government ministries should choose the strategy with the smallest impact, overlaying maps of ecology, cultural assets, land and so on to screen out less controversial low-sensitivity areas, and help local governments give priority to planning solar power potential zones from within low-sensitivity areas for environmental and social review, reducing conflicts between solar power and local values, and temporarily suspending solar power planning and review in controversial areas, so as to build people's confidence in solar power policy and also reduce unnecessary risks for green energy operators.

Third, relevant units should more actively explain policy details to society. Besides explaining the promotion strategy, they should also respond to people's doubts about existing solar power disputes. For example, regarding fishermen's various questions about fishery-solar co-existence, the Council of Agriculture should provide full explanations and consultation, and should not let fishermen, under asymmetric information, face land consolidators or operators directly and feel helpless and afraid of being cheated; at the same time, the Council of Agriculture should also complete the trial results of farming-fishing-solar co-existence as soon as possible, and establish feasible conditions and norms for farming-fishing-solar co-existence.

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