Taiwan's drive to renewable energy is causing some fisheries communities problems

Taiwan's ambitious plan to combat climate change includes developing green, renewable energy. The wind farms visible off the west coast of the island are an important part of that goal.

For some Taiwanese fisherman who have fished in the Taiwan Strait waters for generations, wind energy and other renewables come with a sting - disruption of fishing, pollution, and complaints of a lack communication from the government.

Lee Ping Shun, 52 years old, has fished off Yunlin County in Taiwan for the last 20 years. New wind farms have made it difficult to reach traditional trawling grounds and catch rates have decreased.

"Yunlin is in need of green energy because air pollution affects our quality of life. If you can get power from the sun or wind, then why wouldn't you want that?" "Green energy is good for us, but I'm not sure why things are the way they are," he said in his office near the coast.

Taiwan, a country with limited natural resources, traditionally relied on coal for electricity generation. Its goal is to have at least 60% total power generated by renewable sources by the year 2050.

Koo Xian Shuen, Chairman of Yunmeng Wind Power told reporters, in March, when unveiling the latest offshore Yunlin project, that communication with local communities was not as good as it could have been. This lesson had to be learned.

He said, "From now on, we'll continue to communicate with the people about their problems and help them resolve them, rather than running away from them."

Taiwan's Energy Administration, part of the Ministry of Economy, said that communication is a key component of developing offshore wind projects. The government also has mechanisms in place to compensate for lost income from fisheries.

It added that this was to "enable a harmonious development of the wind power industry and take into consideration the well-being of residents".

Lee isn't the only one.

Some fish farmers in Changhua County claim that wind turbines installed onshore have disrupted their businesses.

Hung Chin Tun, 43, a clam farmer, claims that oil leaked from the wind turbine adjacent to his land.

He said, "I feel helpless. All my efforts are focused on this farm this year." (Reporting and writing by Ann Wang, Annabelle Chih and Ben Blanchard. Editing by Jacqueline Wong.

(source: Reuters)