Under its current policy of converting land uses from afforestation back to farming, Taiwan Sugar Corporation (TSC) has planned one of its agrivoltaic solar energy projects in Pingtung County. "Proposing the agrivoltaic projects aims to revert some of our farmland from afforestation back to agricultural use," TSC stated, "in addition to promoting agrivoltaic farming, we also continues to communicate with local communities for tackling their concerns about impacts on landscapes and ecosystems and further to achieve multi-win benefits to agriculture, green energy, and economy.”
"After the decline in sugarcane cultivation, we responded to the government's afforestation policy to plant trees on the former sugarcane farmland," explained TSC, adding that since the 20-year afforestation contract is due to expire, excluding environmentally sensitive areas, the company has planned to develop photovoltaic farming on its farmland which is also in line with government's renewable energy policy. Building agrivoltaic energy systems is not "chopping down trees and replacing them with solar panels" but to revert the farmland from afforestation back to agricultural uses as well as to achieve multiple benefits to agriculture, green energy, and reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
According to TSC, with respect to local residents' concerns over ecological and environmental issues, the company will continue to communicate with them. On the premise of not destructing local landscapes, the areas with inferior forest formation will be prioritized for photovoltaic farming use, but certain forest areas remain unchanged. In Pingtung County case; for example, the protection forests and those on both sides of the roads along mountains and those right next to the bikeways will be preserved. Moreover, expanding greenbelt regions and preserving surrounding landscapes will be also taken into account to minimize the environmental impacts on regional landscapes, air quality, and natural habitats. The ultimate goal is to achieve multi-win outcomes between agriculture, green energy, and local economy.
TSC News Contact Person:
Ku, Hsiao-Jou
Vice president (Spokesman) of TSC
Contact Number: 886-6-337-8895 / 886-921-941-567
