“Green County” program kicks off in Chiayi City

This article was published by the Macroview Weekly on August 1, 2007. It reports that officials from the Ministry of Economic Affairs recently kicked off a “Green County” program in Chiayi County, heralding a new era in Taiwan's efforts in promoting the use of renewable energy.

The kicking-off ceremony was held at a local gas station -- one of the 289 gas stations in Chiayi City, Chiayi County and Taoyuan County that have signed a contract with the ministry to promote locally produced biodiesel B1 under the program. More than 3,000 trucks from 16 warehousing and trucking companies also endorsed the program to use the locally produced biodiesel B1.

Officials hailed the “Green County” program as a meaningful development in Taiwan, which is not rich in natural resources. They said that as much as 1,320 tons of carbon dioxide emissions are expected to be cut as a result of the use of some 6,500 kilo liters of biodiesel under the program.

The program will also help narrow the economic and development gap between the urban and rural areas, as it encourages farmers to grow crops for producing biodiesel.

Currently, some five or six private companies have joined the MOEA's efforts to develop and produce biodiesel -- a development that is helpful to boost private-sector investment and create jobs.

The “Green County” program constitutes the second phase of the MOEA's biodiesel B1 promotion package, after the first stage that encourages public-run buses to use biodiesel. Officials point out that Taiwan has Asia's second highest ratio of buses using biodiesel, only after Kyoto in Japan.

The third phase is slated to kick off in July 2008, under which diesel being sold in the domestic market must contain 1 percent of biodiesel. Officials added that the 1 percent ratio will be increased to 2 percent in 2010 in the hope of meeting the target of a biodiesel consumption of 100,000 kilo liters in the fourth phase.

Chiayi City and Chiayi County in southern Taiwan, and Taoyuan County in the north, were selected as two model areas, in which the MOEA's Bureau of Energy will go all out to promote the use of eco-friendly biodiesel.