Climate Justice
Environmental impact assessment lawsuit filed against the second phase of the Taichung Power Plant's new gas turbine units, the world's largest thermal power plant
Case Story
Residents of Taichung, Changhua, and Nantou have jointly filed an administrative lawsuit against the Ministry of Environment. The case stems from the Ministry’s approval of the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the “Taichung Power Plant Phase II Gas-fired Unit Project.” The plaintiffs argue that this project will make Taichung the world’s largest coal-fired power plant, and that several backup coal-fired units will remain in operation. The EIA failed to propose a clear decommissioning plan, contradicting the national net-zero emissions target by 2050, and neglected to assess the risk of methane leaks during natural gas storage and transportation. Furthermore, the EIA’s air pollution assessment was found to have flaws, including the application of outdated laws and underestimation of pollution levels. The EIA review process was also deemed too hasty and lacked a legitimate vote. Therefore, the residents are requesting the court to overturn the EIA’s conclusion, hoping that the government will rigorously assess greenhouse gas emissions and ensure alignment with the national long-term carbon reduction goals when developing transitional energy sources.
Plaintiff
Local residents of Taichung, Changhua, and Nantou
Appointed attorney
Attorneys Tsai Ya-ying and Huang Xin-wen
Defendant
Ministry of Environment
Where is the case currently progressing?
The lawsuit was filed on July 11, 2025, and is currently being heard by the Taipei High Administrative Court.
What happened? Why file an administrative lawsuit against the Ministry of Environment?
The Taichung Power Plant (hereinafter referred to as Taichung Power) currently has a total installed capacity of 5,780 MW from both oil and coal. Since 2018, Taiwan Power Company (hereinafter referred to as Taiwan Power) has been implementing a policy of replacing coal with natural gas, proposing a Phase I (2,600 MW) and Phase II (5,500 MW) natural gas project, which will bring the total installed capacity to 8,100 MW, making it the world’s largest coal-fired power plant. However, the natural gas project will not completely replace coal; at the end of the project, there will still be six backup coal-fired units.
In 2024, the Taichung Power Plant’s Phase II natural gas project passed its environmental impact assessment. Lawyers from the Environmental Rights Committee and the Taiwan Wilderness Hearts Ecological Association assisted residents in filing an administrative lawsuit.
What demands do we have for the court?
Revoke the environmental impact assessment review conclusion
What are the main legal issues in this case?
1. Failure to meet Taiwan's 2050 net-zero emission target: According to the Taichung Power Plant's Environmental Impact Statement, even after completion in 2037, the permitted greenhouse gas emissions will still reach 21,160 kt. Compared to the Ministry of Environment's latest data showing 2022 emissions of 26,548 kt, the reduction is extremely limited, and emissions will still be permitted beyond 2050. Furthermore, the statement's explanations regarding CCUS and mixed hydrogen combustion are brief and lack substantive content. It also fails to propose sunset plans for the six gas-fired units and six backup coal-fired units, thus failing to meet the 2050 net-zero emission target stipulated in Article 4 of Taiwan's Climate Change Response Act.
2. Failure to assess the negative impacts of methane leaks: Methane is known as a "super pollutant" because its warming potential is approximately 82 times that of carbon dioxide within 20 years, making it a highly potent greenhouse gas. According to Article 52 of Taiwan's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Operating Guidelines, Taipower should assess the negative impacts of natural gas transportation, loading, unloading, and storage. Studies by the International Energy Agency and numerous international journals have pointed out that methane leaks can occur during the transportation, loading, unloading, and storage of natural gas. In March 2025, Taiwan was observed by the Canadian emissions monitoring company GHGSat to have multiple serious leaks at natural gas facilities. Furthermore, in September 2025, the Hsing Ta Gas Power Plant experienced an explosion and fire during its trial operation due to a natural gas leak, clearly demonstrating a serious methane leak problem in Taiwan's natural gas facilities. However, Taipower failed to assess the negative environmental impact of these methane leaks.
3. Numerous Illegalities in the Air Pollution Assessment The air pollution standards submitted to the EIA committee for review in this case were based on the old law's standards (lower), failing to apply the new law's standards (higher), indicating an error in the application of regulations. Furthermore, regardless of whether the old or new standards were applied, the assessment results showed that emissions exceeded standards during construction. Excessive air pollution clearly has adverse effects on public health. However, the Environmental Impact Assessment Committee failed to require this project to undergo a second-stage environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a more thorough evaluation and to propose more comprehensive solutions, instead hastily approving the EIA.
Moreover, this project did not conduct an air pollution assessment for the operational period as required by law. The developer claims that the reduction in emissions from coal-fired units is included, and the overall project reduces emissions. However, this project involves "gas-fired units," and switching coal to standby is only a mitigation measure. Therefore, an air pollution assessment for the operational period is still legally required.
4. Incomplete Review Procedures The Chung Hua Power Plant, due to its gas-fired project, will become the world's largest coal-fired power plant. However, unlike other gas-fired development projects in Taiwan, this project did not undergo a second-stage EIA review; it was approved after only a first-stage EIA. In contrast, the Phase I natural gas project underwent at least four preliminary reviews by a project team and one environmental impact assessment meeting during its Phase I environmental impact assessment, setting strict start-up conditions for the coal-fired backup units. However, the Phase II project was hastily approved after only one preliminary review by a project team and one environmental impact assessment meeting, without setting any start-up conditions for the coal-fired backup units. Due to this hasty review process, many important matters, including the safety planning of natural gas storage tanks and the assessment of air pollution and greenhouse gas reductions resulting from coal reduction, remain unclear. These issues were only requested to be provided by Taipower after the meeting, without any substantive review.
What’s more, this case was not decided by a show of hands or by consensus (the chairman asked if there were any objections), and the chairman directly announced that the environmental impact assessment had been approved, which is obviously illegal.
What effect/goal does this lawsuit hope to achieve?
1. The development of bridging energy sources such as natural gas should be specifically examined to determine whether it aligns with Taiwan’s 2050 net-zero target.
Environmental impact assessments should include evaluations of relevant greenhouse gas emissions.
