Taiwan to introduce environmental assessment requirements for geothermal projects

Yangmingshan National Park, near Taipei, Taiwan (source: flickr/ Ken Marshall, creative commons)

The Ministry of Environment of Taiwan has announced that it will introduce several amendments to the relevant regulations on environmental impact assessment (EIA) for renewable energy development initiatives. Part of the proposed amendments seeks to introduce this requirement for geothermal power projects of a certain scale.

In order to encourage the reduction of development area for geothermal power generation projects, the draft proposes that an EIA be required if the project is located in an environmentally sensitive area, such as a nature reserve or national park, and the installation or cumulative installation capacity reaches more than 10 MW and the area is more than 2 hectares.

If the geothermal power project is located in general areas, the scale at which an EIA will be required will be relaxed from 10 MW to 50 MW.

The revised draft “Details and Scope Determination Standards for Environmental Impact Assessment Should be Implemented for Development Actions” proposes amendments to a total of 21 articles which also encompass solar PV and hydropower projects. The notice period is 60 days.

Earlier this year, the Taiwanese government had also published new regulations on geothermal exploration and development that provided the framework for the application and permitting process. The establishment of these new regulations is a positive sign for the emerging geothermal sector of Taiwan.

Source: Liberty Times Net