TaLin (大林） - Kaohsiung Coal Fired Power Plant Expansion

"In Kaohsiung today our usual warm, sticky summer. You can expect a high of 31 degrees and smokey outside, with an unlikely chance of rain." 

That's what the weather report might read in a few years if Mercy on the Earth Taiwan is correct when they say that the planned expansion of the Da Lin (大林） coal fired power plant will more than double the air pollution levels in Kaohsiung City.

Here we have 1 ton  of coal (this photo courtesy of scientificamerican.com)

The power plant at Da Lin currently burns about 1 600 000 of these each year. 

When the expansion project goes through it will burn 17 000 000 tons every year. 

The reason for this expansion, according to Taipower, is to replace the 5 really really old natural gas generators at the plant with "high efficiency coal fired generators." 

To their credit, Taipower is finally taking down the oldest (and probably dirtiest) natural gas generators in all of South Asia. What is not entirely clear, is why they're being replaced with coal fired generators instead of new natural gas generators, which are known to be cleaner. 

The obvious answer is: coal is cheaper. 

Not a brain buster. But there's more to it than that.

The odd thing is the federal government has recently cemented plans to bring down carbon emissions to below 2005 levels by 2020. Thus, building more coal fired power plants would seem an odd step. It also seems strange as most of the north of Taiwan has natural gas generation, which points towards why their air quality is significantly better.

On the other side of the argument, Taipower claims that instead of increasing pollution, the high efficiency scrubbing system will cut air pollution in half. Mercy on the Earth disagrees, as does the Mayor of Kaohsiung Chen Chu, who is opposed to the new project.

To be fair, it may be possible that today's coal is more environmentally friendly than 35 year old natural gas when one takes into account the advances in efficiency for coal powered generation. BUT, natural gas generation TODAY is still more efficient and less polluting than coal today, so their decision to build more coal instead of new natural gas generation makes little sense. 

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Perhaps the most crass and annoying part of this is that Taipower intends to build a sort of light spectacle around the smoke stacks in order to display the new algae culture growth mechanisms (intended to help cut pollution). So, we in Kaohsiung are meant to look on it in awe and amazement.

Do they really expect us to think positively about our coal fired power plant just because there are lights on it? 

That's just dumb. 

         Get real Taipower.

KHH Enviros Interviewed by Taipei Times

Well,
As the old saying goes: if you scream loud enough, eventually someone will ask you "what's wrong?"
It appears that person was Jenny Hsu from the Taipei who interviewed Tim, our Managing director...ahem, me.

The article is now online at Taipeitimes.com but here's a copy just in case you missed it.
Or click here to go to the Jenny Hsu's Interview with the KHH Enviros
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COMMUNITY COMPASS: Canadian on a mission to turn Kaohsiung green
GREENHEAD: Instead of complaining about the smog and the litter, Tim Higgs organized KHH Environs to teach people how to 'greenify' the city
By Jenny W. Hsu
STAFF REPORTER
Tuesday, Jul 21, 2009, Page 4

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For environmental activist Tim Higgs, being a contagious agent who spreads the “green bug” in Kaohsiung is exactly what he has in mind.

The 26-year-old Higgs, who hails from Ontario, Canada, got involved in the global environment protection movement because of his experience working with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as in the private sector, on energy and water efficiency in Canada.

“I loved my job because it was something that made you feel good about yourself when you went to work in the morning,” he said, referring to his job in Canada.

“Moreover, I was constantly learning new things each day on the job,” he said, adding that he missed that feeling when he moved to Germany.

But even there, he was inspired by the German government's commitment to green energy and the people's love for the Earth, he said.

When he moved to Kaohsiung last year, he said he was greeted not only by the area's famous southern hospitality, but also by the heavy smog that enveloped the city.

“You don't need a big reason to want to do something for the environment here in Kaohsiung. Just look around you or breathe in the air in the city,” said the English teacher, recalling the time when he lived in an apartment downtown, where he could not even open the windows without smelling exhaust fumes from heavy traffic.

“Within in a day, there would be a layer of dirty black grime so thick that you couldn't dust off. The pollution was in your face all the time and you just couldn't escape from it,” he said.

Instead of moaning and groaning about the constant battle with the smog-filled air and the litter, Higgs decided to roll up his sleeves and go to work by organizing the KHH Enviros, a community-based group to educate the public about ways to “greenify” the city.

Higgs used a technique called “community-based social marketing,” which involves engaging the community from a market perspective.

“What you do is first find out everything you can about the problem you are seeking to solve. Once you have done that, you find out about the barriers that are stopping people from doing a behavior that you want them to do,” he said.

Take littering for example, he said, a big barrier to people disposing their garbage properly is the low number of public garbage cans.

Taiwan's trash pick-up system presents another problem to making people more environmentally conscious, he said.

The next step to shaping public behavior is to get them to change the way they view themselves — from ordinary citizens that are detached from the movement to “green people” who are committed to cleaning up the city in a sustainable manner.

Higgs and his group of volunteers do this by passing out stickers that say “Greenhead.”

“This might sound simple but it is an effective method. Having the sticker on your scooter, you are telling the world that you are an 'environmental person,' which means whenever someone asks you about it, you either have to strengthen the identity inside yourself or discard it. We find that most people do the former,” he said.

In addition to organizing projects such as beach clean-ups, the group offers various “green tips” on its monthly newsletters to raise public awareness that protecting the environment is often easier than many would think.

Higgs said one of the goals of KHH Enviros is to be able to partner up with the city government on different city beautification projects.

Like many NGOs in the country, KHH Enviros faces the twin problems of cash and staffing shortage. For more information on the group and volunteer opportunites, check out www.khhenviros.webs.com/home.html