September 2024
Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment Announced a Draft Amendment to the "Standards for Determining Specific Items and Scope of Development Activities for Which Environmental Impact Assessments Are Required to Be Conducted", Adjusting the Regulations Related to Environmental Impact Assessments for Renewable Energy Developments
September 2024
Grace Chou and Vincent Kuo
On June 28, 2024, Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment announced a draft amendment ("Draft Amendment") to certain provisions of the "Standards for Determining Specific Items and Scope of Development Activities for Which Environmental Impact Assessments Are Required to Be Conducted" ("EIA Determination Standards"). The advance notice period is 60 days, starting from June 29, 2024 and ending on August 27, 2024. This amendment primarily focuses on adjusting the standards for determining whether an EIA is required to be conducted for renewable energy development activities, such as photovoltaic, geothermal power, and small hydropower. The key points of the Draft Amendment are summarized as follows:
1. Photovoltaic
The current EIA Determination Standards only require an EIA to be implemented for the installation of photovoltaic power generation systems on important wetlands. The Draft Amendment adds the following circumstances where large-scale installations or installations of photovoltaic power generation systems in certain sensitive areas must undergo an EIA, including: (1) The site is located in a national park; (2) The site is located in a wildlife refuge or a major wildlife habitat; (3) The site is located in a nature preserve approved and announced under the Taiwan Coastal Area Natural Environment Protection Plan; (4) The site is located on an agricultural land in a special agricultural zone; (5) The site is located on land approved by the government for afforestation subsidies or incentives, which is classified as state-owned land, public land, state-owned enterprise land, or government-owned enterprise land. However, this does not apply if consent is obtained from the competent energy authority; (6) The site is located on a slope with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 20 MW or more, or covers an area of 15 hectares or more; (7) For the application to install photovoltaic power generation systems on a slope, if any of the following conditions are met, the area of the proposed or cumulative installations should be combined and calculated, thereby reaching the scale specified in (6) above: (i) The lands under application for installation or cumulative installation share the same land serial number; (ii) The land serial numbers of the lands under application for installation or cumulative installation are adjacent or separated only by public facilities such as roads, channels, drainage ditches, etc.; (iii) The boundaries of the lands under application for installation or cumulative installation are within a horizontal distance of 20 meters from each other.
It should be noted that the Draft Amendment specifies that the aforementioned photovoltaic power generation systems do not include those installed on rooftops or those considered ancillary facilities to other development activities, as confirmed by the competent authority in charge of relevant industry.
2. Geothermal Power
The Draft Amendment stipulates that the installation of a geothermal generating unit must undergo an EIA if any of the following conditions are met: (1) The site is located in a national park with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or more. However, this does not apply if consent is obtained from the competent national park authority; (2) The site is located in a wildlife refuge or a major wildlife habitat with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or more, and the area under application for installation or cumulative installation is 2 hectares or more; (3) The site is located in important wetlands with an installed or cumulative capacity of 10 MW or more, and the area under application for installation or cumulative installation is 2 hectares or more; (4) The site is located in a nature preserve approved and announced under the Taiwan Coastal Area Natural Environment Protection Plan, with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or more, and the area under application for installation or cumulative installation is 2 hectares or more; (5) The site is located on indigenous reserved land with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or more, and the area under application for installation or cumulative installation is 2 hectares or more; (6) The site is located at an elevation of over 1,500 meters; (7) The installed or cumulative installed capacity reaches 50 MW or more.
3. Small Hydropower
The Draft Amendment adds that the construction of hydropower facilities or the addition of units with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of less than 20 MW, classified as “small hydropower,” is exempt from the EIA requirements if they meet one of the following conditions: (1) The hydropower facilities or units utilize existing irrigation channels, pipelines, or other water conservancy facilities; (2) The hydropower facilities or units draw surface water while maintaining a downstream flow of no less than 2 cubic meters per second at the water intake point during the period of water diversion for power generation, with the tailwater returned to the original surface water body after power generation, as reviewed and confirmed by the competent authority in charge of relevant industry. Furthermore, according to Article 3, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 7 of the Renewable Energy Development Act, “small hydropower” refers to a power generation method that converts non-pumped storage hydroelectricity by using the original water volume and elevation difference of waterways, ditches, pipelines or other hydraulic structures for purposes other than hydraulic water use, by directly installing or setting up bypass waterways, with an installed capacity of less than 20 MW.
In addition to the aforementioned amendments, to encourage the research and development of emerging energy sources, such as hydrogen and decarbonized hydrogen combustion, the Draft Amendment adds that experimental projects approved by the competent authority are exempt from the EIA requirements. Furthermore, power generation equipment utilizing renewable energy with an installed capacity of less than 2 MW is also exempt from the EIA requirements. Additionally, considering that indoor substations have a relatively minor impact on the surrounding environment, the Draft Amendment adds provisions that allow indoor substations meeting specific criteria to be exempt from the EIA requirements. Moreover, in light of the amendments to the Mining Act on June 21, 2023, the Draft Amendment aligns with these changes by revising provisions related to the EIA for exploration and mining activities.
The contents of all materials (Content) available on the website belong to and remain with Lee, Tsai & Partners. All rights are reserved by Lee, Tsai & Partners, and the Content may not be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, published, or transferred in any form or by any means, except with the prior permission of Lee, Tsai & Partners.
The Content is for informational purposes only and is not offered as legal or professional advice on any particular issue or case. The Content may not reflect the most current legal and regulatory developments. Lee, Tsai & Partners and the editors do not guarantee the accuracy of the Content and expressly disclaim any and all liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or permitted to be done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance upon the whole or any part of the Content. The contributing authors' opinions do not represent the position of Lee, Tsai & Partners. If the reader has any suggestions or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Lee, Tsai & Partners.
Grace Chou and Vincent Kuo
On June 28, 2024, Taiwan’s Ministry of Environment announced a draft amendment ("Draft Amendment") to certain provisions of the "Standards for Determining Specific Items and Scope of Development Activities for Which Environmental Impact Assessments Are Required to Be Conducted" ("EIA Determination Standards"). The advance notice period is 60 days, starting from June 29, 2024 and ending on August 27, 2024. This amendment primarily focuses on adjusting the standards for determining whether an EIA is required to be conducted for renewable energy development activities, such as photovoltaic, geothermal power, and small hydropower. The key points of the Draft Amendment are summarized as follows:
1. Photovoltaic
The current EIA Determination Standards only require an EIA to be implemented for the installation of photovoltaic power generation systems on important wetlands. The Draft Amendment adds the following circumstances where large-scale installations or installations of photovoltaic power generation systems in certain sensitive areas must undergo an EIA, including: (1) The site is located in a national park; (2) The site is located in a wildlife refuge or a major wildlife habitat; (3) The site is located in a nature preserve approved and announced under the Taiwan Coastal Area Natural Environment Protection Plan; (4) The site is located on an agricultural land in a special agricultural zone; (5) The site is located on land approved by the government for afforestation subsidies or incentives, which is classified as state-owned land, public land, state-owned enterprise land, or government-owned enterprise land. However, this does not apply if consent is obtained from the competent energy authority; (6) The site is located on a slope with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 20 MW or more, or covers an area of 15 hectares or more; (7) For the application to install photovoltaic power generation systems on a slope, if any of the following conditions are met, the area of the proposed or cumulative installations should be combined and calculated, thereby reaching the scale specified in (6) above: (i) The lands under application for installation or cumulative installation share the same land serial number; (ii) The land serial numbers of the lands under application for installation or cumulative installation are adjacent or separated only by public facilities such as roads, channels, drainage ditches, etc.; (iii) The boundaries of the lands under application for installation or cumulative installation are within a horizontal distance of 20 meters from each other.
It should be noted that the Draft Amendment specifies that the aforementioned photovoltaic power generation systems do not include those installed on rooftops or those considered ancillary facilities to other development activities, as confirmed by the competent authority in charge of relevant industry.
2. Geothermal Power
The Draft Amendment stipulates that the installation of a geothermal generating unit must undergo an EIA if any of the following conditions are met: (1) The site is located in a national park with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or more. However, this does not apply if consent is obtained from the competent national park authority; (2) The site is located in a wildlife refuge or a major wildlife habitat with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or more, and the area under application for installation or cumulative installation is 2 hectares or more; (3) The site is located in important wetlands with an installed or cumulative capacity of 10 MW or more, and the area under application for installation or cumulative installation is 2 hectares or more; (4) The site is located in a nature preserve approved and announced under the Taiwan Coastal Area Natural Environment Protection Plan, with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or more, and the area under application for installation or cumulative installation is 2 hectares or more; (5) The site is located on indigenous reserved land with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of 10 MW or more, and the area under application for installation or cumulative installation is 2 hectares or more; (6) The site is located at an elevation of over 1,500 meters; (7) The installed or cumulative installed capacity reaches 50 MW or more.
3. Small Hydropower
The Draft Amendment adds that the construction of hydropower facilities or the addition of units with an installed or cumulative installed capacity of less than 20 MW, classified as “small hydropower,” is exempt from the EIA requirements if they meet one of the following conditions: (1) The hydropower facilities or units utilize existing irrigation channels, pipelines, or other water conservancy facilities; (2) The hydropower facilities or units draw surface water while maintaining a downstream flow of no less than 2 cubic meters per second at the water intake point during the period of water diversion for power generation, with the tailwater returned to the original surface water body after power generation, as reviewed and confirmed by the competent authority in charge of relevant industry. Furthermore, according to Article 3, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 7 of the Renewable Energy Development Act, “small hydropower” refers to a power generation method that converts non-pumped storage hydroelectricity by using the original water volume and elevation difference of waterways, ditches, pipelines or other hydraulic structures for purposes other than hydraulic water use, by directly installing or setting up bypass waterways, with an installed capacity of less than 20 MW.
In addition to the aforementioned amendments, to encourage the research and development of emerging energy sources, such as hydrogen and decarbonized hydrogen combustion, the Draft Amendment adds that experimental projects approved by the competent authority are exempt from the EIA requirements. Furthermore, power generation equipment utilizing renewable energy with an installed capacity of less than 2 MW is also exempt from the EIA requirements. Additionally, considering that indoor substations have a relatively minor impact on the surrounding environment, the Draft Amendment adds provisions that allow indoor substations meeting specific criteria to be exempt from the EIA requirements. Moreover, in light of the amendments to the Mining Act on June 21, 2023, the Draft Amendment aligns with these changes by revising provisions related to the EIA for exploration and mining activities.
The contents of all materials (Content) available on the website belong to and remain with Lee, Tsai & Partners. All rights are reserved by Lee, Tsai & Partners, and the Content may not be reproduced, downloaded, disseminated, published, or transferred in any form or by any means, except with the prior permission of Lee, Tsai & Partners.
The Content is for informational purposes only and is not offered as legal or professional advice on any particular issue or case. The Content may not reflect the most current legal and regulatory developments. Lee, Tsai & Partners and the editors do not guarantee the accuracy of the Content and expressly disclaim any and all liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or permitted to be done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance upon the whole or any part of the Content. The contributing authors' opinions do not represent the position of Lee, Tsai & Partners. If the reader has any suggestions or questions, please do not hesitate to contact Lee, Tsai & Partners.
