In response to renewable energy development goals pushed under Taiwan's energy policies, the EPA has established relevant administrative measures to enhance the efficiency of environmental impact assessments (EIA) in order to develop green energy while ensuring compliance with environmental protection requirements. In addressing concerns from various sectors about the efficiency of the EIA process, the EPA has set specific targets to complete EIAs within 6 months to 1 year. Additionally, measures have been initiated to improve relevant administrative procedures, such as progressively converging initial review opinions and limiting the initial review meetings to a maximum of three.

On EIAs for offshore wind power, in 2016 the EPA compiled an assessment report on the zonal development for offshore wind farms in order to solicit opinions. This report identified common environmental issues related to offshore wind farm development and proposed corresponding strategies to serve as a guiding principle for subsequent development planning and EIAs. As for the third EIA stage of offshore wind power development, the EPA drew from past review experiences to establish assessment criteria and guidelines for ecological investigations. These regulations serve as a reference for planning of offshore wind power development and help support the advancement of national policies on energy transition.

The EPA will keep actively conducting EIAs for renewable energy development projects. With an efficient process, the EPA aims to minimize environmental concerns, thoroughly achieve the goals of conducting EIAs, and effectively maximize results from EIA processes while facilitating green energy development.

Excerpt from Major Environmental Policies, June 2023