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Following is the transcript (English portion) of a standup briefing by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, after attending the opening ceremony of HK Electricˇ¦s Lamma Wind Power station today (February 23):
Reporter: What do you think about the criticism from some environmental groups that Hong Kong is lagged behind in using renewable sources of energy and the government has not put enough pressure on the local power companies?
Dr Liao: Hong Kong has its restriction because of geological reasons, this is a city afterall. Most countries would have to place their renewable energy generators in the countryside where they have plenty of space. We are very restricted in terms of finding the right site that the public would accept, that is one thing. The other is, of course, the lack of land. So we were talking about how to put wind mills at sea, that is another consideration. We have to think about the cost of the equipment we put on sea, which goes through corrosion much faster than those on land. So that is one consideration.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Thursday, February 23, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:33
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