Illegal fan fraud 02 "unscrupulous operators broke the green energy, the Energy Bureau sat by and watched it break the law, the Construction Department: should be ordered to raise the job.

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The land in the Changhua Fangyuan farming area was illegally built into a wind power plant, and the construction was reported by fishermen, but the Changhua county government not only connived at the completion, but even helped to legalize it on the spot. Operators even rely on the endorsement of the government to issue "profit coins" to attract money, and then turn their hands to kill investors, which has evolved into "green energy fraud."

In this regard, the Changhua County Economic and Green Energy Development Office said that because the operators have obtained the "agreement for the record of renewable energy power generation equipment" issued by the Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the county government has the responsibility to legalize guidance. The Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs said it was "informed afterwards" that it was off the hook, but would not withdraw its consent permit.

Wang Bainian, the person in charge of the land and illegal wind turbines, said, "the government should actively provide guidance instead of banning or suppressing it. At the beginning, everyone is not familiar with it, and it is inevitable to make mistakes." With regard to the future legalization of the vetting process, Wang Bainian is full of confidence: "hundreds of millions of yuan has been invested, and no matter how long it takes, he will strive to complete the legalization." As for the part of money-absorbing fraud, Wang said that it was done by the former company and had nothing to do with him.

Fangyuan small fan power plant, which is illegally developed and is still constantly updating the equipment. (courtesy of Changhua Ring League)

The Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs: the industry is opportunistic, and the Energy Bureau knows afterwards.

According to the green energy development procedure, operators must first obtain "consent for the record" from the Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, and then sign a "contract for the purchase and sale of electricity" with Taiwan Power before applying to start construction. However, the illegal wind power plant in Changhua Fangyuan started in May 2017, was reported in August, and fined by the county government in October. However, the Energy Bureau of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Taiwan Power Company respectively agreed to approve and sign a contract in December 2017. The procedure is completely reversed. (please see the end of the article for memorabilia.)

Chen Chong-hsien, head of the Energy Technology Group of the Energy Bureau, said that "government departments are based on official documents. When the Energy Bureau approved and put on record, the county government did not notify that land construction had started illegally," and the "approval letter" specifically stated that "land use must comply with laws and regulations." He stressed that the Energy Administration was "informed afterwards."

In response to the fact that the operator has divided the entire 10 hectares of land into 72 plots, each with an area of 660 meters for wind power development, obviously exploiting legal loopholes, Chen said that even if these 10 hectares are divided into 72 plots, it is still the same green energy development project. Operators can improve it in two ways: "first, if you want to allow the use, a maximum of 660 square meters of wind power will be used within 10 hectares, and the rest must be demolished. Second, if we adopt the 'change of the whole area', we must also put forward a development plan and change the use zone in accordance with legal norms. "

The operators have nothing to fear, have not made up for the violations, and continue to expand the violations.

"the counselors in Changhua County do not decide that these ten hectares are legal, but instead provide operators with information to let them know where the detour of remedial measures is." Chen Chong-hsien stressed: "the operator has applied for an extension several times, and the county government has asked the operator to make a supplement that must comply with the land laws and regulations before it can be approved, otherwise there will be no delay in obtaining a license to sell electricity."

However, more than two years have passed since the county government accepted the application in January 2018 (2020), the operator has not yet completed the supplement, and without fear, they continue to update the equipment and expand the violations. In this regard, Chen Chong-hsien believes that the county government and the central government have done their duty. "the attitude of the government is to provide guidance, but the operators have to bear the risk of their own investment, and it is possible that he will not be able to recover this investment."

Six fans were inserted into each small plot of land. (taken from the Land Information website)

The Energy Administration sat by and watched it break the law, but did not withdraw its "consent to approval" operators without fear.

But what is puzzling is why the Energy Bureau would rather sit back and watch the violators apply for changes rather than withdraw their "consent for filing". Chen Chongxian said, "before 2017, the land legitimacy of the green energy development process was not reviewed until the final 'equipment registration'. Therefore, before 2017, the approval of 'consent for the record' does not require land legitimacy as an element."

However, there is a suspicion of contradiction in the view of the Energy Bureau, not only with "the land use of the case must be legal" as the proviso, to give consent to the development case for approval, but also on the ground that "consent to record does not require land legitimacy" as the reason for "unable to withdraw the case". What is the necessity of land legitimacy for green energy development?

Chen Chongxian said that in the past, only photovoltaic development was required to attach legal land use documents when applying for approval for the record, while "wind power development" did not require legal land documents. The reporter checked and verified that in the 2019 "Renewable Energy Generation equipment setup and Management measures Amendment provisions comparison Table", the addition of "wind power generation equipment on the ground" should also provide relevant land documents such as agreeing to allow the use or change of compilation, setting up business plans, and so on. Although the Energy Bureau has made amends after the sheep has been lost, the indulgence industry in this case has violated the law, which has not only dealt a heavy blow to the image of green energy, and no one is responsible for kicking balls from the central to the local level.

The illegal construction of a 10-hectare wind power plant is still under construction to update its equipment, and the government connives at illegal development. (photography / Lin Jiyang)

Construction Department of the Ministry of Economic Affairs: according to the law, the operators should be ordered to stop work and restore the original state within a time limit, and if necessary, transfer it to the District Prosecutor's Office.

According to the laws and regulations on land change, for the development of subsidence areas with an area of less than 30 hectares, the county and municipal governments have to directly examine and change the use zoning, but this case belongs to "wind power generation," and the power of examination rests with the Central Construction Administration.

Zhu Weiting, the second section chief of the Integrated Planning Group, which is responsible for reviewing the land change business of the Construction Department, was surprised when he learned of the case: "operators illegally build wind power plants in culture areas. According to Article 21 of the Regional Planning Law, they should immediately stop work and restore the original state within a time limit. Even if they want to send additional development plans, they should not allow operators to continue to expand violations. They can be punished on a case-by-case basis, and if necessary, they can cut off water and power supply and transfer it to the district attorney's office."

Zhu Weiting said: "farming land belongs to agricultural land in a broad sense. If you want to change other uses, you must obtain the consent of the agricultural land competent authority. If it is sent to the Ministry of the Interior (Construction Department) for review, the local agricultural land competent authority is the Agriculture Department, and the central government is the Council of Agriculture." Therefore, if this case is tried by the Construction Department in the future, the opinion of the Council of Agriculture will play a key role.

Takeover: no matter how long it takes, the wind power plant will be legalized.

Behind this illegal wind power development case, the capital structure is complicated, and there are several original developers who issued "wind money" to recruit investment. after successfully attracting money, the person in charge ran away, and the whereabouts of the company is unknown. One of the main developers, ── Zhaobang, actually sold the "development rights" to Ruboxing when the fan was built, and it was also funded by Baoxing to complete the construction, becoming the official owner of the case.

For example, Baoxing Industry is a large-scale automobile nut factory in Tainan, and the person in charge, Wang Bainian, is expected to upgrade the old nut factory to a fan equipment manufacturer, and in the future it will be stationed in the developing Shashi Green Energy Industrial Park. The small fan factory in Fangyuan Wanggong breeding area has become the best promotion of the company.

In the face of the dispute over land development in this case, Wang said: "small enterprises should respond to the policy of green energy, and the government should actively provide guidance and hope that the government will give guidance instead of banning or suppressing it." At first, no one is familiar with it, and if there is no clear law to follow, it is inevitable to make mistakes. "

The illegal construction of a small wind turbine power plant has also become an advertising endorsement for the Tainan Municipal Government to collect Taiwan sugar and develop the Greentown Industrial Park. (from Tainan Mayor Huang Weizhe's Facebook)

As for the investment disputes caused by external fund-raising in this case, Wang said, "the previous hand (Zhaobang) transferred the right to the equipment in May 106, and continued to publicize and solicit it, which was quite vicious." However, he said, "the issue of illegal collection of funds has nothing to do with our company and has been explained to investors and appointed a lawyer to deal with it."

When it comes to the review process of legalization in the future, Wang Bainian is obviously confident: "with so much investment, it is impossible to give up now. Several hundred million yuan has been invested so far. No matter how long it takes, we will strive for legalization. " He raised his voice and shouted to the government: "if this does not happen, who will dare to respond to the investment in the future?"

The alien base landed in the fishing village, fishermen: destroying the largest breeding area in Taiwan

In the face of this group of illegal fans, which are uniquely shaped and regarded as "alien bases," local residents in Fangyuan Township are divided into two opinions. Some people think that the wind turbine power plant is very abrupt: "the sea breeze is salty and wet, and metal fans will rust and damage in two or three years." it is also believed that "there is rarely a scenic spot in the coastal area comparable to high heels and crystal churches, which can attract outsiders to come here to take pictures and sign in."

Liang Xiangsheng, the local mayor of Xinbaoli, agrees to keep this strange "alien base," hoping to bring a glimmer of life to the declining fishing village. "after all, clams are becoming more and more difficult to raise, and life in the fishing village will become more and more difficult. It's always good to have a new scenic spot." He stressed that he held a positive attitude on the premise of "no pollution and no hindrance to farming".

Lin Jimin, chairman of the association, who was selected as one of the top ten outstanding fishermen in 2005, said that the Wanggong aquaculture area, the Fubao aquaculture area in the north and Yongxing aquaculture area in the south have connected nearly 1300 hectares to become the largest aquaculture settlement in the country and should not be easily destroyed. In the face of the construction of wind turbines on aquaculture land, which was eventually reduced to a scam, Lin Jimin thought that the government should give fishermen an account, hoping that the fans could be removed so that aquaculture areas could be restored to use.

The fans dismantled due to the renewal are arranged around the culture ponds, and fishermen say that this kind of fishing environment can not cultivate clams at all. (courtesy of Changhua Ring League)

"once you indulge the violation, other violations will follow."

Chen Bingchen, a local artist in Fangyuan, has long been concerned about local culture and coastal natural landscape. he cannot agree that illegal wind power plants can be used as a new scenic spot in Fangyuan. He believes that "the essence of this monster in agricultural and fishing villages is to give up agriculture and fishery. The fundamental reason is that the land is cheap."

Chen Bingchen points out, "what is artificially made is popular, not real beauty." In his eyes, Fangyuan does not need an "alien base" or a huge windmill. "Fangyuan is characterized by sunset, clouds and sea views, and simple life in a fishing village." He believes that keeping simplicity and nature is the beautiful asset of Fangyuan.

"farmland should be used for agriculture and should not be turned into illegal factories or wind power plants." He is more worried that "once one case is indulged, other illegal uses will follow. What about these professional farming?" What about the fishermen? " Local fishermen also revealed that many landlords are looking forward to the "symbiosis of fish and electricity" to bring profits, and the rent of farming land is also ready to move.

Chen Bingchen, the local artist of Fangyuan, believes that the abrupt artifacts cannot be integrated into the fishing village, and that the real beauty of Fangyuan lies in the coordination of the natural coastline and sunset clouds (courtesy of Chen Bingchen)

Open the back door of land development in the name of developing green energy

Shi Yueying, director-general of the Changhua Environmental Protection Alliance, said, "the Wanggong farming area has the advantage of industrial clustering, and operators should look for more suitable places to set up wind farms." She is worried that before the operators start construction illegally, the county government will help the operators to release the trap, so the "broken window effect" will allow more operators to reach out to the fishing grounds. If they lose the clustering advantage of the farming areas, "more and more fishermen will give up farming." it will accelerate the decline of fishing villages. "

Cai Huixun, director of the Earth Citizen Foundation, lambasted, "this case is that unscrupulous operators drag the green energy policy into the water, and this case must not be allowed to pass. Fake green can really attract money, and a fraud will cause the image of green energy to collapse." She suggests that government units should impose penalties on workers and restore them to their original state, otherwise, "as soon as this example is opened, the agricultural and fishing land will first insert fans and cover photovoltaics, and get on the bus first and then make up the tickets. this is unfair to law-abiding operators, and it is a very bad case."

In recent years, from the central government to the local government, in order to sprint the performance of green energy development, they have opened the back door of the country and watched the operators start construction illegally, and then in the name of guidance, they helped the operators to be legal locally and connived at the floating and indiscriminate development of agricultural and fishing land. how many similar cases are there?. It is worth examining and exploring.

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