Taiwan’s ambitious drive for renewable energy troubles some fishing communities

Taiwan has set an ambitious goal to develop green, renewable energy as it seeks to play its part in tackling climate change, and the banks of wind farms visible in the haze off its blustery western coast are a major part of those plans.

But for some Taiwanese fishermen who have trawled in the waters of the Taiwan Strait for generations, wind power and other renewables are coming with a sting in the tail - disrupted fishing, pollution and complaints about a lack of communication from the government.

For Lee Ping-shun, 52, who has been fishing off Taiwan's Yunlin County for the past two decades, new wind farms have made getting out to traditional trawling grounds much harder and catches have declined.

"Yunlin needs green energy, because our life quality is affected by air pollution, if you can get energy from sun, from wind, why wouldn't we want that? For us, green energy is great, but I don't know why it turns out to be like this," he said at his office by the coast.

Natural resource poor Taiwan, which has traditionally relied on coal to generate electricity, has a goal of at least 60% of total power generation to come from renewable sources by 2050.

Koo Xian-shuen, chairman of Yunmeng Wind Power, told reporters in March while unveiling the latest offshore Yunlin wind project that communications with local communities could have been better and that was a lesson learnt.

"So from now on, we will continue to communicate with them about the problems they face, and help them to resolve it, not running away from it," he said.

The Taiwan economy ministry's Energy Administration told Reuters that communication was an important part of the development of offshore wind projects and the government has a mechanism for things such as compensation for lost fishery income.

This is to "enable the harmonious development of wind power and at the same time take into account the wellbeing of residents", it added.

But Lee is not alone.

Further up the coast in Changhua County, some fish farmers say wind turbines set up onshore have interfered with their business.

Clam farmer Hung Chin-tun, 43, said oil has leaked into his ponds from a wind turbine abutting his land.

"I feel helpless, all my efforts this year are on this farm," he said.