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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 LNG terminal application passes impact assessment
Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance convener Pan Chong-cheng, third right, and other group members hold banners at a protest in front of the Environmental Protection Administration in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
‘MAXIMUM PROTECTION’: Environmentalists urged CPC to honor pledges made ahead of a referendum last year that failed to garner a majority for its relocation
By Lo Chi and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
A proposed liquefied natural gas （LNG） terminal project in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District （觀音） yesterday passed its environmental impact assessment at the Environmental Protection Administration （EPA）.
CPC Corp, Taiwan （CPC）, which would build and operate the terminal, expects that it would in June 2025 begin providing gas to the Datan power plant.
The refiner said that the site was selected to enable speedy delivery to the power plant.
A referendum on Dec. 18 last year urged the relocation of the project, as it might affect algal reefs, but failed to pass.
CPC said it had taken its potential environmental effect into account and would build the terminal farther offshore, adding that it would not pursue earlier plans to reclaim 21 hectares of land to build a harbor and turning basin.
The terminal would allow for maximum protection of algal reefs, the company said.
The new terminal would ensure that all gas-powered plants in Taiwan could receive fuel from multiple sources, CPC said, adding that northern Taiwan, which consumes 40 percent of the nation’s natural gas, currently receives gas from terminals in Kaohsiung and Taichung.
The third LNG terminal would ensure power grid stability, it said.
Rescue Datan’s Algal Reefs Alliance convener Pan Chong-cheng （潘忠政）, who participated in the EPA meeting that approved the project, called on CPC to honor pledges made ahead of the referendum to protect the environment.
Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association lawyer Tsai Ya-ying （蔡雅瀅） urged government transparency on natural gas prices and demand, citing price fluctuations caused by Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Citing the government’s pledge to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, she said that CPC should make plans to restore the natural environment.
National Sun Yat-sen University professor Chang Hsueh-wen （張學文） and National Taiwan University associate professor Lee Pei-fen （李培芬）, who sat on the environmental impact assessment committee, said CPC should use drones to monitor the situation of sand drift and crustose coralline algae in the area.
Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng （曾文生） said the new terminal would play an important role in the nation’s goal of transitioning to cleaner energy sources.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Members of the Environmental Protection Administration’s environmental impact assessment committee attend a meeting in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Lo Chi, Taipei Times
