Yunlin County received an "Excellent" rating for air quality maintenance or improvement from the EPA in 2020 and 2021, and was mainly recognized by the central government for pollution control by Yunlin Offshore Industrial Park, control of dust raised by Zhuoshui River, and establishment of campus air quality maintenance areas. Yunlin County Government held the press conference on "sharing environmental protection performance, Yunlin number one" in the lobby of the county government building on June 1, 2022, and shared the results of its air quality maintenance work. It also held an award ceremony, during which Deputy Magistrate Shu-Ya Hsieh handed out awards to show appreciation to related units that cooperated and dedicated their efforts to air pollution control work.
Deputy Magistrate Hsieh pointed out that Yunlin County has received an "Excellent" rating for air quality maintenance for 2 consecutive years, and sincerely thanked departments for the cooperation and efforts in air pollution control work. She encouraged departments to pursue even better results and accelerate their progress. Yunlin County has actively implemented various control measures and engaged in cross-departmental cooperation to improve air pollution. It promoted energy transition under the "industry development policy under the vision for 2030," in which the Environmental Protection Bureau, Economic Affairs Department, and industrial park service centers under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Industrial Development Bureau worked together to promote the use of low-pollution fuel for boilers. This increased the percentage of gas-fired boilers from 44% to 91%, and significantly reduced the discharge of air pollutants. Yunlin County collaborated with the Yunlin Offshore Industrial Park Service Center of MOEA in implementing measures to reduce pollution from the offshore industrial park, and provide guidance for the upgrade of process equipment. The Environmental Protection Bureau and FPG improve pollution reduction measures through eco-friendly meetings. The Environmental Protection Bureau has established stricter control standards to improve control, such as the air pollution emission standards for power facilities, and VOCs control and emission standards for equipment components.
Director Qiao-Wei Zhang of Yunlin County Environmental Protection Bureau pointed out that Magistrate Chang attaches great importance to the improvement of air quality in Yunlin County, which has seen significant improvement with the collective efforts of various parties. In the case of PM2.5, the average in January to April 2017 was 34.3μg/m3, and decreased to 20.3μg/m3 in 2022; average concentration ranked 7th in the country and improvement reached 40%. At the Douliou Station, which is in an urban area, average PM2.5 concentration was 37.0μg/m in January to April 2017, and declined to 26.2μg/m3 in 2022, which is an improvement of 29%. Even more significant results were seen in the prevention of dust raised by Zhuoshui River, and the number of dust event-days decreased from 59 days in 2017 to 9 days in 2020 and 6 days in 2021, which is a significant improvement of 89.8%.
Yunlin County Government handed out a total of 7 awards during the press conference and award ceremony, including "Zhuoshui Dust Control," "Use of Clean Fuel by Industrial Boilers," "excellent performance in pollution control in an offshore industrial park," "zero deficiencies at construction site," "campus air quality maintenance area," "adoption of air quality purification area," and "ESG sustainable environment contribution award," in which FPG won 3 awards and environmental protection measures recognized by Yunlin County Government are described below:
I.Award for excellent pollution control results in offshore industrial park
With regard to environmental protection controls of the offshore industrial park, Yunlin County Government and the Yunlin Offshore Industrial Park Service Center, Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs worked together with FPG in air quality improvement in the offshore industrial park, and provided guidance for the upgrade of process equipment. Under the guidance of government agencies and efforts of FPG, besides lowering the concentration of emissions from coal-fired generators around the country and achieving the best air quality among industrial parks, we have implemented even more environmental protection improvement measures, such as MGGH white smoke improvement, WESP air pollution control improvement, EcoPorts certification of Mailiao Port, and using every drop of water 7.3 times. In the future, we will continue to improve air pollution prevention and reduction measures, and create a better environment in coordination with requirements of government agencies.
II.Zhuoshui River Dust Control Award
Zhuoshui River raises a considerable amount of dust during the northeast monsoon each year, and it has a significant impact on the quality of life of coastal residents. The 4th River Management Office, Central Region Water Resources Office, Forestry Bureau, Changhua County Government, Yunlin County Government, and FPG reduced the dust raised by Zhuoshui River through water covering, green covering, and laying clam shells. The Soil and Water Conservation Bureau carried out governance and restoration work at collapsed areas upstream to reduce the amount of sediment downstream. FPG sponsored the electricity fees of 22 wells on exposed sand dunes at the estuary of Zhuoshui River, which spray water to prevent particulate matter during dust raising event-days. Cooperation and efforts reduced the dust raising event-days by 89.8%, reduced exposed surface area of Zhuoshui River by 45.7%, and related units planted a windbreak forest to reduce dust. The windbreak forest also provides a good habitat for the restoration of birds, and over 200 bird species have been discovered at the estuary.
III.ESG Sustainable Environment Contribution Award
FPG's Mailiao Park (also known as the Sixth Naphtha Cracker or the offshore industrial park) was constructed using the best available control technology (BACT), which is already the strictest environmental standard in the country. We set the goal to "start from zero" to make the park even more eco-friendly, and improved processes based on the concept of zero air pollution, wastewater, and waste. We have already implemented numerous environmental protection improvement measures, and also installed wind power and solar power facilities in coordination with the government's energy policy under the goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. We have dedicated our efforts to energy conservation, waste reduction, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and continue to actively promote ESG (environmental protection, social responsibility, and corporate governance). We have also enhanced AI applications in processes for energy conservation and emission reduction, in order to fulfill our corporate social responsibility by achieving carbon neutrality. Yunlin County Government recognized FPG's philosophy for sustainable operation, and hopes that FPG will set an example for the implementation of carbon neutrality and ESG in the county. It thus awarded FPG the Sustainable Environment Contribution Award as an encouragement.
The press conference successfully concluded after the award ceremony, which was reported by numerous media and had a positive effect on FPG's positive image. Awards were summarized to encourage employees to continue dedicating their efforts to environmental protection.
(FPG, Jun 2, 2022)