Taiwan’s parliament has approved a package of amendments banning ground-mounted and floating solar installations in several protected areas, tightening oversight of a sector that has expanded rapidly in recent years but drawn increasing scrutiny over land use, ecological impact and the safety of water-based projects.
Lawmakers passed revisions to the Environmental Impact Assessment Act, the Tourism Development Act and the Geology Act on 14 November, shifting the authority to decide which solar projects require an environmental review from the environment ministry to the legislature.
The move follows months of debate triggered by concerns over large floating-solar arrays and slope-mounted installations, and comes after a July typhoon in southern Taiwan damaged water-based solar panels, prompting calls for stricter rules.
Under the amendments, environmental impact assessments (EIAs) are mandatory for solar projects of 40 megawatts (MW) or 40 hectares and above, for 10MW or 5-hectare developments on slopes or water bodies, and for all solar projects in environmentally sensitive areas, with only rooftop, small-scale and auxiliary installations exempted.
The legislation also bans ground-mounted and water-based solar development in national scenic areas, geological heritage sites and landslide-prone geological sensitive zones.
Rooftop systems, self-use installations under 100 square metres and projects under one hectare that clear EIAs are not included. It is the first time Taiwanese law has explicitly designated “no-build zones” for solar projects.
The amendments come as Taiwan works to increase renewable energy use but continues to rely heavily on fossil fuels, which supplied more than 87 per cent of its electricity in the first eight months of 2025.
Solar accounted for about 14.28 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity in 2024 – around 5.2 per cent of total power generation – though expansion has been slowed by land constraints and public resistance to farmland and floating-solar development.
Major technology manufacturers such as TSMC, Hon Hai and UMC have meanwhile stepped up demand for green electricity to meet corporate emissions-reduction commitments.
Taiwan People’s Party lawmaker Chang Chi-kai said the revisions would deliver “a triple win: the environment wins, good-faith farmers and fishers win, and honest solar developers win”, while Kuomintang lawmaker Wang Yu-min said the environment ministry’s EIA rules often “follow the economic ministry’s preferences” and called the amendments “the version that best protects the environment”.
Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Chung Chia-pin criticised the final version as “ridiculous and off-key”. His party’s proposal – which would have required EIAs for solar development in ponds, wetlands, retention basins, reservoirs and fish farms – failed to pass.
During cross-party negotiations, vice economy minister Ho Chin-tsang said major technology manufacturers such as TSMC need large volumes of green power, and that existing EIA sub-regulations already cover renewable energy facilities and can be strengthened.
Vice environment minister Shen Chih-hsiu said shifting EIA determination authority to the primary law means any future adjustment would require legislative approval, reducing the ministry’s flexibility “to revise rules in a timely manner in response to circumstances”.
The solar industry and environmental groups have warned that the long-term impact will depend on how the new screening and assessment mechanisms are implemented, with some experts arguing that tighter oversight could improve planning and community acceptance, while others fear delays may constrain renewable-energy growth at a time when the island is under pressure to decarbonise.
Some other countries have faced similar tensions between ecological protection and rapid renewables expansion.
Italy, for instance, has moved to impose fines for unauthorised renewable-energy plants in sensitive areas, while exempting small projects unless they are built in protected zones.
In Japan, large “mega-solar” developments near the Kushiro Shitsugen wetlands in Hokkaido have triggered local pushback over potential harm to endangered species.
In the Philippines, a legal battle is currently ongoing over the planned construction of a wind farm that would pass through protected areas in the Sierra Madre mountains in Rizal province.
