Oyster Farmers of Beimen's Luzhugou Firmly Reject Solar Encircling the Village, Fear Waterbird Hotspot Will Become an Ecological Breach

Since 2017, solar power controversies have continued unabated along the Tainan coast. After protests by aquaculture fishermen in Qigu, the city government promised that, in order to protect the aquaculture industry, solar development must not extend west of Provincial Highway 61. However, west of Provincial Highway 61, at Luzhugou Harbor in Beimen District, Tainan, a developer purchased a large tract of idle fish pond land and, citing "severe land subsidence making it an agricultural zone unfavorable for farming," sought to build a solar plant. Because the site is immediately adjacent to Luzhugou fishing village, residents organized self-help efforts and repeatedly blocked construction. At present, the two sides remain deadlocked.

The Taiwan Black-faced Spoonbill Conservation Association warns that the ecological location of this site is fragile and sensitive, especially since it sits at the mouth of the Jiangjun River, directly connected to the coastline and lagoons. If a solar plant is indeed built at this site, it will become an ecological breach in the coastline, affecting the north-south migration route of migratory birds.

Independent councilor Chen Kun-he, who has voiced support for the local protest, sharply criticized the Tainan City Government for allowing speculation in coastal fish pond land, where the price per hectare soared from just over one million to more than four million. Solar power has become a land game, and before even generating electricity, developers are already playing at land speculation and arbitrage.

A Village Famous for Oyster Farming and Sunsets, Now at Odds with a Solar Development Project

Luzhugou Harbor in Beimen District, Tainan, has for generations made its living from oyster farming and fishing, and is deeply impressive for its beautiful sunset fishing harbor and prosperous abundance. However, starting in May and June of this year, villagers began discovering gravel trucks entering and leaving the fish ponds to the south, suggesting construction was underway. It was not until around August that villagers learned a solar developer was about to build a solar plant. Because the area spans as much as 20 hectares and almost surrounds half the village, with the site separated from homes by only a narrow alley, villagers anticipated the reflection and heat absorption problems that would arise in the future, which would impact both daily life and the landscape, and so a powerful backlash formed.

The construction contractor held a briefing session on August 30, but residents were furiously angry and disrupted the meeting. That same day, angry villagers went directly to the construction site to block work. The contractor attempted construction again on September 7 and was once more blocked by villagers. On September 9, village chiefs from all of Beimen District gathered at Luzhugou Fishing Harbor for a briefing session, but only the Tainan City Government sent representatives. Both sides agreed: "Construction shall be suspended until the contractor and residents reach a consensus." Unexpectedly, on September 21, construction equipment entered the site for the third time. Villagers spread the word through a Line group and immediately gathered at the construction site to block the work.

Qiu Bo-yuan, a member of the self-help association, pointed out that Luzhugou makes its living from oyster farming, and the fish ponds connect directly with the lagoon and oyster fields through the tides, sharing the same water source. Oyster farming places the greatest importance on stable water quality, and the project will inevitably affect water temperature and water quality before and after construction. He was even more worried that if the developer levels the fish ponds, what would be used as backfill? The precedent of illegal burial of furnace slag by a developer in neighboring Xuejia Township made villagers even more terrified. Fishermen's livelihoods depend entirely on this sea, and they absolutely cannot tolerate developers acting recklessly.

Residents Ask: If It Is Both an Ecological Hotspot and West of Provincial Highway 61, Why Is Development of Solar Power Still Approved?

Luzhugou residents are quite proud of their hometown's beauty and ecology. Through self-help efforts, residents discovered various problems with this development project: "Why was Luzhugou long ago identified as an ecological hotspot, yet still included in the development zone?" "Why did the city government promise no development west of Provincial Highway 61, yet still approve this project?" "Without clarifying the ecological and aquaculture issues, we absolutely cannot accept this."

Qiu Bo-yuan sharply criticized the chaos of coastal solar companies buying up land everywhere, which has stirred the anger of coastal residents. "This is already like a beggar driving out the temple keeper. Those who bought the fish ponds don't even live locally; they bought the land simply because building solar panels there makes money. But whether Luzhugou fares well or badly in the future has nothing to do with land speculators. The bitter consequences over the next twenty years will all be borne by the fishing village residents."

"The fish ponds and the river mouth form a natural food chain, and migratory birds and the fishing village industry naturally coexist. Now, replaced by cold solar panels, will migratory birds still dare to come and roost?" Qiu Bo-yuan lamented. "When green energy is developed through improper means, it is no longer environmentally friendly energy, but energy that destroys the environment."

Black-faced Spoonbill Association Opposes Development: The Estuary Ecological Habitat Is Extremely Sensitive, May Affect Migratory Bird Migration

Also opposing this project is the Tainan ecological group, the Black-faced Spoonbill Conservation Association. Association director Chen Jian-cheng argued that this site is located at the mouth of the Jiangjun River, surrounded by lagoons and oyster fields, and is itself an extremely ecologically sensitive area that in principle should not be developed.

According to long-term observations by the Black-faced Spoonbill Conservation Association, the site has the Jiangjun River to the south, the river mouth to the west, and lagoons throughout the north, connecting to an extremely fragile coastal ecology, with only the east bounded by Provincial Highway 61. In terms of migratory bird flight routes or roosting, the point-source development at this site has in fact already affected the entire north-south migratory bird migration route.

The local estuary and lagoon waters are covered with oyster fields, and the waters are interconnected, so residents are quite worried that oyster farming will be affected. Moreover, coastal salinity is quite high, and if solar panels corrode and release heavy metals, or if the construction process or anti-rust methods affect the marine ecology, it will deal a severe blow to the aquaculture industry. Residents have all kinds of doubts about the development project, yet have not received respectful consultation.

Tainan City Government: This Project Was Approved Before the Provincial Highway 61 Promise, So There Is No Breach of Agreement

Guo Kun-zhu, section chief of the Energy Section of the Economic Development Bureau of the Tainan City Government, stated: "In principle, development west of Provincial Highway 61 is halted. However, the developer of the Luzhugou site submitted its application before the city government made its promise, and it was also approved by the central government. From the standpoint of timing, there is no issue of breaching the agreement."

Guo Kun-zhu stated that the city government's consistent position is to hope the developer makes every effort to communicate, and that only with detailed explanations can construction continue. But he also emphasized: "Construction approval is issued by the central government and falls under central government authority." The city government's position will certainly value residents' expectations, and it will also require the developer to continue holding briefing sessions locally, striving to balance residents' production, livelihood, and ecology.

Policy Contradiction: Fishery-Solar Coexistence with 40% Coverage Must Avoid Ecological Hotspots, Yet Ground-Mounted Solar at 70% Does Not

To develop green energy, the Council of Agriculture announced 38 zones of "agricultural land within severely land-subsided areas unfavorable for agriculture where green energy facilities may be installed." The Luzhugou project site falls within Zone 34. In this zone, solar development requires no land use change and no integration with agricultural operations, and the solar installation area can reach 70%.

But the contradiction is that fishery-solar coexistence projects with 40% solar panel coverage were all screened against maps to exclude "ecological hotspots" before designation, whereas ground-mounted projects with 70% solar panel coverage, which may also threaten ecological hotspots, have no regulation to prevent it.

Avoiding ecological hotspots was a consensus formed only after fishery-solar coexistence projects sparked controversy in Qigu. However, solar development projects on "land-subsided and unfavorable farming zones" still do not exclude ecological hotspots. Taking this case as a lesson, agricultural authorities should re-examine the 38 announced unfavorable farming zones to determine just how many overlap with ecological hotspots.

City Councilor: The City Government Broke Its Promise and Allowed Solar Power to Become a Land Speculation Game

Councilor Chen Kun-he, who has long followed coastal solar controversies, disagrees with the city government's explanation. He believes the city government's promise was to "halt development and review west of Provincial Highway 61," regardless of when applications were submitted. This case is clearly a breach of agreement and a betrayal of aquaculture fishermen.

Chen Kun-he further sharply criticized: "Under the city government's neglect, solar power in Tainan has already become a land speculation game." He revealed that to grab solar profits, developers are buying up potential fish pond land everywhere, with fish ponds rising from just over one million to more than four million per hectare. "Many plots of fish pond land don't even wait for construction to be completed and electricity generated; as long as there is potential for a solar project site, speculation and resale for profit have already begun." As land costs rise, and a single pond is at least five hectares, it is becoming increasingly difficult for aquaculture fishermen to rent complete large tracts of fish pond land on the market.

Chen Kun-he further revealed that because central government laws are insufficient to suit local conditions in Tainan's coastal aquaculture environment, he proposed the "Tainan City Self-Governance Ordinance for Review of Installation of Ground-Mounted Solar Photovoltaic Facilities" to regulate solar development, but it is still being resisted by councilors across party lines. Solar interests involve too many links, and many councilors who originally signed on later asked to withdraw their support. "The Democratic Progressive Party keeps trying to force me to withdraw the proposal."

Chen Kun-he believes that the repeated conflicts between solar power and fishing villages highlight the necessity of environmental and social checks, which is exactly the dilemma he saw during the Qigu aquaculture fishermen's protest. He did not expect that two years later, things would not have improved and controversies would still keep occurring.

Luzhugou's Oyster Industry Feeds the Entire Village, and Residents Are Full of Confidence in Their Oyster Quality

Luzhugou was originally a small fishing village on an offshore sandbar, and moved to its current location as the coastal land silted up into solid ground. Benefiting from fishing and salt, generation after generation has made a living from oyster farming, fishing, and harvesting from the sea. Local elder Mr. Qiu Ling-mu introduced that Luzhugou now earns at least seventy to eighty million per year from oyster farming alone, supporting nearly a hundred oyster-farming households. The elderly and children can string oysters and shuck oysters, and the entire industry chain is enough to feed the whole village.

Qiu Ling-mu explained: "The oysters produced in Luzhugou are better than those in Budai and Dongshi, because Chiayi uses floating-rack farming, rising and falling with the seawater, while Luzhugou uses standing-rack farming. After the tide recedes, the oysters can still sunbathe, making the meat firmer and more springy." He confidently believes that such a competitive and vibrant village should not give way to solar panels.