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26 wind turbines occupy settlements in Sihu Township, residents fight against wind turbines

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Wind turbines swallow Sihu Township 01"26 tall towers occupy settlements, must people at the windward head and watery tail be left to be slaughtered at will? Residents fight against wind turbines

"The northeast monsoon here usually howls, that is a natural sound, but the noise from wind turbines is not natural. How can the two kinds of sound be mentioned in the same breath?" In the coastal townships of Yunlin where the wind blows hard, land-based wind power has been developed through enclosure, with 105 planned for all of Yunlin County, of which 26 are planned for Sihu Township alone. The settlements are almost surrounded by wind turbines, like "needles inserted" that split Sihu Township into pieces. Residents formed a "Self-Rescue Association Against Wind Turbines" to protest the haphazard installation of wind turbines, which seriously disrupts life; the noise and sense of pressure will accelerate population loss and push villages toward abandonment.

The developer of this case is Dade Energy Company, whose predecessor was InfraVest, the company that triggered strong protests when it developed land-based wind turbines in Yuanli. This year it also had a maritime standoff with coastal fishermen over the development of Yunlin offshore wind turbines, and the contractor even sent people carrying knives to threaten villagers. Of the 26 wind turbines Dade Energy planned in Sihu Township, 5 have obtained construction permits, but because residents' backlash was so strong, construction was temporarily suspended to avoid conflict. Villages in Sihu Township are actively linking up, and villagers have threatened that if the developer starts construction without authorization, they will not hesitate to take more drastic means to block construction.

Associate Professor Chen Tai-an of TransWorld University, who has long paid attention to ecological and environmental issues in coastal areas, said that the current approach to coastal green energy development is creating another kind of environmental injustice. "People here do not need so much electricity. For the benefit of supplying electricity to industrial zones or cities, the consequences are borne by people in rural areas. Why should rural people have this obligation?" he asked.

The self-rescue association made a special trip north to Wanggong in Fangyuan, Changhua, to observe completed land-based wind turbines; the contrast between their height and the residential houses is quite astonishing. (Photo by Lin Chi-yang)

More than 20 giant towers like Shin Kong Mitsukoshi buildings cut through settlements; young and middle-aged people gather to defend their hometown

Sihu Township is located in the coastal area of Yunlin, a place truly worthy of the name "windward head and watery tail." Most townspeople grow garlic, peanuts, or engage in aquaculture. Because life in the coastal villages is hard, most people leave home to make a living elsewhere, making Sihu the township with the highest population outflow in Yunlin County and the second highest in the country. However, in recent years, because city living has become difficult, many young and middle-aged people have also returned home to farm and start businesses.

Now that huge wind turbines are about to surround the villages, the formerly silent villages, under the leadership of a group of active young and middle-aged people, have gradually expanded the issue of wind turbine installation from something watched by a few people into a public issue for the whole township, prompting residents of coastal townships to think about what kind of future they need.

Wu Lian-jin is from Xiwei Village in Sihu Township and lives in Sanchong. When he heard fellow villagers mention that a foreign company was coming into the township to build a wind farm, with large wind turbines more than 100 m tall, he did the math: that was equivalent to more than 20 giant towers the height of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi buildings inserted directly into Sihu Township. The more he thought about it, the more wrong it seemed, so he rushed back to find the village chief and ask for a clear explanation.

Wu Lian-jin travels back and forth every week to guard his homeland, hoping only to preserve the beauty of life for the village. (Photo by Lin Chi-yang)

The uncle links people together and throws himself in: "I've been a busybody since childhood"

At Wu Lian-jin's strong request, the village chief held the first villagers' meeting in March, but only about a dozen people attended sparsely. Wu Lian-jin, full of drive, did not believe that "Sihu Township turning into wind turbine township" would be better, and insisted that villagers discuss the matter from the beginning. However, because he had been away from home for too long, his neighborly ties were unfamiliar, and only people living in the township could persuade everyone, so he sought out Wu Zhong-he, an old childhood acquaintance.

Wu Zhong-he, a chicken farmer, has a gentle and honest personality. A junior college graduate, he counts as one of the educated young and middle-aged people in the village. Aside from inspecting the automated chicken house, he usually writes calligraphy and plays guitar in the garage when he has nothing else to do. When Wu Lian-jin invited him to join the self-rescue association against wind turbines, Wu Zhong-he could not help recalling memories from the past.

"When the weak and young children in the village were bullied, 'Lian-jin' would pay them back in kind. From then on, no one at school dared bully the kids from Xiwei Village. He always stood up for everyone. He is just that kind of busybody." Wu Zhong-he believed that if even a wanderer like Wu Lian-jin was willing to come back to guard his hometown, then he, who normally did not involve himself in township affairs, had no ground to refuse, so he agreed to "throw himself in" and serve as convener of the Xiwei Village Self-Rescue Association Against Wind Turbines.

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