- By Esme Yeh / Staff reporter
The Taiwan Renewable Energy Alliance yesterday unveiled its evaluation of energy resilience policies proposed by candidates running for mayor or county commissioner this year.
Alliance vice chairwoman Chang Ya-tun (張雅惇) told a news conference that the alliance had received responses from 18 candidates among the 45 surveyed nationwide.
Centrally funded tax revenue allocated to local governments would rise by NT$8.84 million (US$268,782) next year, she said, adding that investments in energy resilience should be able to last for the next 10 to 15 years.
Solar panels are pictured on a roof in Tainan in an undated photograph.Photo courtesy of the Tainan City Government
Alliance secretary-general Kao Ju-ping (高茹萍) said that the survey was given to all candidates regardless of party affiliation.
Star ratings were used to evaluate the candidates’ answers, she said, adding that only answers with clear policy commitments and concrete implementation strategies would be rated the maximum five stars.
In terms of the six special municipalities, five candidates got four stars, including Tainan mayoral candidates Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) and Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介), Kaohsiung mayoral candidate Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政).
Among candidates for the other areas, only Hsinchu City mayoral candidate Chuang Ching-cheng (莊競程) earned four stars.
Taitung County commissioner candidates Wu Hsiu-hua (吳秀華) and Asenay Daliyalrep, and Lienchiang County commissioner candidate Wang Chung-ming (王忠銘) were given one star.
Chang said that Chuang Ching-cheng’s response was particularly outstanding, as it highlighted assistance for community renewable energy projects.
Kao said the candidate is the only one who proposed a road map for achieving city energy resilience by 2035, which integrates local rooftop solar and resources from energy-heavy industrial consumers at Hsinchu Science Park.
Former alliance deputy vice chairman Chen Bing-heng (陳秉亨) said renewable development would benefit society regardless which party wins the elections.
Renewable energy is crucial for local disaster prevention and would add to local residents’ financial income, he said.
Some candidates did not reply to the alliance, but that does not mean they do not care about energy resilience, given that they are busy with campaigns, he added.