Photovoltaic Development and Landscape Conflicts in Taiwan: Status and Resolutions

The turbulent international situation in recent years has triggered a global fossil fuel supply crisis, leading to a rise in renewable energy; and solar photovoltaics (solar PV) accounts for over half of the current worldwide renewable energy production. Aiming to achieve its 2050 Net zero Emissions goals, Taiwan is actively promoting the development of solar PV and other renewable energy sources. Although solar PV causes fewer environmental issues than traditional power generation methods and related impact can usually be mitigated through proper measures, the public may still have reservations about the installations’ impact on local landscapes, environment, and ecosystem since the solar panels are usually set up near living zones. This study complied relevant past literature and categorized them into impacts on the visual landscape, environment, and habitats for discussion. Looking back on Taiwan’s development of solar PV, there were several incidents in which the public expressed concerns related to landscape, environment, and ecosystem issues. There was much controversy and conflict surrounding the installation sites as well. This study looked at the three most controversial cases in Taiwan and realized the importance of communicating with the public. Taiwan has introduced the Directions for the Landscape and Ecological Environment Assessment of Ground-Mounted Photovoltaic Systems (設置地面型太陽光電設施景觀及生態環境審定原則) for the solar PV operators’ reference to reduce the impact on landscape and environment when setting up solar power facilities and a lot of sites are designed as per The Directions. Yet we discovered that when compared with similar regulations or policy in other countries, Taiwan’s Directions do not include guidelines and instructions on how to communicate with the locals as well as how the implementations can be adjusted according to local conditions. In the future, our government should review and refine these aspects to improve the overall domestic solar PV installation environment and reduce the pertinent impacts on landscape, environment, and ecosystems.