Delta Energy Education

2011 marked the fifth year of Delta's "Whole-School Energy Education" program. The program is aimed at providing schools with an integrated, cohesive and balance energy education promotion framework. The program requires the participation of all the different groups in a school including the students, teachers, parents, community, and non-government organizations. Resources from different sectors are therefore brought together to set up the "Whole School Energy Education Expert Team" to help schools adopt a whole-school approach to energy education.

Delta has now established a close relationship with 11 elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan that have become Delta's energy education bases. These schools use 30% less energy than normal schools. The outstanding achievements in energy-saving made by the Bihu Elementary School in Taipei City, Minfu Elementary School in Hsinchu City and Jiachang Elementary School in Kaohsiung City led to the Ministry of Education designating them as their regional energy demonstration schools in 2011. At the end of 2011, the accomplishments of the Delta Foundation's projects were also reported at the Low-Carbon Technology Forum in the UK, putting the international spotlight on Taiwan's achievements in energy education.

Development of Local Energy Teaching Materials

To introduce the importance of energy and climate change issues to the next generation early, the Delta Foundation, Earth Passengers and the Taipei Municipal University of Education drew on the materials of the overseas Whole-school Approach to Energy Education to develop localized teaching materials for the Taiwan Energy Education Program (TEEP). Starting from learning about the types of energies, students are encouraged to measure the electrical appliances in their everyday life as well as the energy consumed during product lifecycles. This is then used to introduce the concept of the carbon footprint so students can learn to take an active interest in energy-saving at home and at school. They may even help promote carbon reduction among their parents, relatives and friends. The TEEP has now been selected by Penghu County as the official school energy teaching material for developing a Low-Carbon Island.

In 2011, over one hundred Delta employees participated in the TEEP energy education volunteer activities. A total of 126 classes and 3,780 attendances benefited from the TEEP. At the end of 2011, over 50,000 attendances have received the energy education developed by Delta.

Zero-Carbon Classroom

To help students understand green energy applications, the Delta Foundation set up the "Zero-Energy Classroom" at the Wanfang Elementary School in Taipei City, the Minfu Elementary School in Hsinchu and Jiachang Elementary School in Kaohsiung in 2011. Unlike conventional classrooms powered by electricity from burning fossil fuels, the clean energy for the Zero-Carbon Classroom came from solar power. Each classroom had a capacity of 3.1 kWP and used monitoring software to record power generation and consumption. A carbon dioxide meter, lighting meter and temperature/humidity meter were also installed to log monitoring information and analyze results through an online platform. The data was then incorporated into the curriculum of that school. As a practical teaching tool for energy education, tthe Zero-Carbon Classroom not only used the spare rooftop space for power generation but also introduced the concept of energy-saving into the teaching materials. Students were able to see for themselves that solar power is already feasible and also realize that a change in electricity usage habits was crucial to the development of a low-carbon society. Maintaining a good indoor environmental quality in the classroom also helped to boost learning effectiveness.

3D Low-Carbon Mobile Movie Truck

The environmental 3D animation "To Face The Truth In Taiwan" that attracted more than a million viewers during the Taipei International Flora Expo was installed in the "3D Low-Carbon Mobile Movie Truck", a joint project between Delta, the National Science Council and the National Taiwan Science Education Center. This was the first mobile 3D movie screening truck in Taiwan and was equipped with a 10,000 lumen high-definition projector manufactured by Delta. Apart from the internal 150" projector screen, back projection can also be used for external audiences, turning the truck into a high-definition movie theater. Screenings were held throughout Taiwan to help bridge the urban and rural divide in environmental education.

Energy and Climate Exhibitions

In 2011 Delta and the National Science Council worked jointly to organize the "Aiming High for a Low-Carbon Taiwan" and the "Technologies of the Future" exhibitions. The two exhibitions attracted approximately 500,000 attendances, providing more input on the impacts of climate change and future energy sources. Apart from making extensive use of Delta's projection equipment, Delta also provided advanced exhibits such as suntracking PV systems, pure electric vehicles, electric buses and EV charger stations. Engineers were also stationed as exhibition guides to enhance the effectiveness of energy education.

In the second half of 2011, Delta and the National Palace Museum cooperated on the hosting of the "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" exhibition. Besides the cultural implications, the exhibition coincided with a once-in-a-century drought along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The water levels of Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake both dropped to new record lows, making the painting from six centuries ago an unexpected witness to the effects of climate change.

Large-scale Energy Musical

The energy musical "The Legendary Life of Michael Faraday" created to celebrate Delta's 40th Anniversary was written by Wei-hsin Sun, the Director General of the National Museum of Natural Sciences. Featuring a cast of top Taiwanese stage performers such as Berson Wang and Mei-ling Lo, the musical brought energy education to life.

In addition to attracting an audience of 12,000 at the C.K.S. Memorial Hall for Delta's 40th anniversary celebrations, two outdoor performances were hosted at the Fulfillment Amphitheater in Taichung and the Kaohsiung Municipal Cultural Center with the cooperation of the National Science Council, National Museum of Natural Sciences and Kaohsiung Bureau of Cultural Affairs. The performances attracted 32,000 attendances in total, making these the largest energy education events in 2011.

Leveraging the Media

The "Low-Carbon Lifestyle Blog" managed by the Delta Foundation is currently one of the most frequently updated online information platforms for climate issues in Taiwan. The blog attracted around 600,000 views last year and has now been visited more than 2.1 million times. The blog has even expanded into the publishing field and the book "24 Lessons for Low-Carbon Living" was not only recognized with the "2009 China Times Book Review Award" but was also on the 2011 recommended reading list for Penghu County. So far, the book is on the recommended reading list for three local counties and cities ¹⁸.

During all of 2011, the residents of the Taoyuan-Hsinchu-Miaoli region could receive the "Climate Wars in Taiwan" program hosted by the Delta Foundation on the radio station IC Broadcasting at Hsinchu Science Park. On-demand online streaming was also available. "Climate Wars in Taiwan" and another ten programs at IC Broadcasting took part in "The Next 100 Years – Discovering the New Taiwan". The project was named the Best Production for the 2011 Golden Bell Awards, a notable achievement for Delta's first foray into radio broadcasting.

Green Campus

Energy consumption by buildings accounts for a sizeable proportion of all energy consumption and also produces large amounts of GHG emissions. Delta is not only committed to building only green buildings in the future but also to only donating green buildings. The Y.S. Sun Green Building Research Center (also known as the Green Magic School) built by Delta and National Cheng Kung University were completed in January, 2011, and it was the first zero-carbon building in Taiwan. In addition to receiving a Taiwan Green Building Diamond rating, the building also received the U.S. Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) organization's top Platinum certification, the first educational building in Asia to do so. The Y.S. Sun Green Building Center not only makes extensive use of green building materials but it has also achieved full scores from the LEED in "energy-saving", "water-saving" and "innovative design". The Kuo- Ting Optics and Photonics Building commissioned in May, 2011, was the first green building at National Central University. The green building design and Central University Lake complement each other perfectly and provides excellent ventilation. The National Tsinghua University's Delta Building completed in October, 2011, not only emphasizes ventilation, natural lighting and sun shade in its energy-saving design but it also installed Delta's PV system and LED lighting equipment to reduce power consumption by at least 20%. The building has now been awarded a Green Building Bronze rating by the Ministry of the Interior.

Solar Building Design Competition.

The 2011 Delta-cup International Solar Building Design Competition asked for organizations around the world to submit their designs for applying solar building technology in the real world. The theme of "Low-carbon Life with Sunshine" was intended to instill the design ideals of solar buildings in the architects of tomorrow. The first prizes in different climate zones went to the "Vertical Village" created by the School of Architecture at Southeast University and "Six Meters of Sunshine" from the Beijing Jiaotong University. The Vertical Village project will be realized at Tongli Lake in Suzhou, China. The high-tech and green design project will become truly inhabitable low-carbon housing, providing a tangible green building for inspection and validation.

Continued Promotion of Green Buildings

Delta is working with regional community education groups (such as the Tainan School of Adult Education) to train green building guides and help local people understand the implications of green buildings. Even more importantly, this introduces and familiarizes children with green buildings to cultivate green building concepts at the grassroots level. The Delta Foundation is also actively participating in government planning initiatives such as low-carbon cities and communities. By providing past research on green buildings, climate and energy, Delta hopes this will encourage the government to use its budget in a reasonable and effective manner.

Green Designer Workshop

The Green Designer Workshop organized by the Delta Foundation is the first professional course in Taiwan for training green architects and designers. Held in partnership with the National Taipei University of Technology and the Carbon Neutral Architecture Center, the course realizes the goals of sustainability, LOHAS, energy-saving and waste reduction in green design. The curriculum emphasizes both theory and practice in design. The theoretical component includes "Green Building Theory" and "Green Building Design Strategy" while the practical components include "Total Conversion to Green Building", "Green Building Evaluation System" and "Green Building Case Studies". Visits to actual green buildings are also organized. Towards the end of the course, students are given a real-world example like EMBA courses and asked to apply the knowledge they learnt during the course to propose a practical green building solution. Students are also asked to rate each other's drawings. The 30 students in the 3rd workshop held in 2011 completed 16 classes.

Scholarships and Academic Grants

The Delta Foundation set up an environmental scholarship in 2005 to encourage youths to look for solutions to the environmental issues that mankind is facing today in their own particular fields of expertise. Over the past seven years, the Foundation has sponsored 47 students to pursue master and doctoral degrees in environment-related fields in the UK and the Netherlands. We hope that cultivating environmental protection experts with an international perspective will produce solutions for global issues and boost industrial competitiveness. To encourage the descendants of Nationalist forces left in northern Thailand and to further their education, the Foundation also provides overseas scholarships for overseas compatriot students from Thailand to study in Taiwan. In 2011, a total of 10 overseas students from northern Thailand received scholarships to study in Taiwanese universities and colleges.

The "Delta Corporate Environmental Ethics Research Grant"sponsored by the Delta Foundation and administered by the Chinese Business Ethics Education Association was also launched in 2011. The scholarship is the first research grant program targeted at business environment ethics in Taiwan. As part of the program, two outstanding teachers from business ethics-related disciplines are selected and sponsorship given for short-term overseas research. The assistance helps the candidates expand their knowledge and experience of business ethics and environmental sustainability issues. By promoting grassroots business ethics education in Taiwan, this will ultimately encourage the industry, government and universities to pay more attention to business and environmental ethics. This year's grants were won by Prof. Hsiang-lin Chih from the Department of Banking and Cooperative Management, National Taipei University, and Prof. Long-chuan Lu from the Graduate School of Marketing Management, National Chung Cheng University.

Delta Power Electronics Seminar

In 2011, the 11 th Delta Power Electronics Seminar was held at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan. More than 260 people including teachers and students from renowned institutions such as Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Shanghai University, Beijing Jiaotong University and Harbin Institute of Technology, guests, Delta's top executives and experts took part in the seminar and a total of 42 papers were submitted. Over the last decade, the seminar has served as a broad platform for academic exchanges and has been very influential on power electronics education in China.

Delta Environmental Law Forum

The Delta Environmental Law Forum is an academic symposium on environmental resource and energy law. The mission of the Forum is to promote academic developments in cross-strait environmental resource and energy law. The Forum also hopes to help cultivate talented scholars in environmental law. The first forum was held in 2011 at the Tsinghua University School of Law. Notable environmental law scholars from both sides of the strait discussed "Environmental Law and Sustainable Development" in terms of current cross-strait developments.

During the Forum's opening ceremony, awards were presented to Prof. Wang Canfa from the China University of Political Science and Law as the "Delta Environmental Law Scholar of 2011" as well as Prof. Qin Tianbao from the Wuhan University and Assistant Prof. Deng Hai-feng at Tsinghua University for "Delta Young Environmental Law Scholar of 2011" in recognition of their academic contributions.

Academic Research

As extreme rainfall caused by global warming poses a serious flooding risk to cities in Taiwan, the Foundation set up a partnership on "Storm Damage Reduction" with the Chinese Association of Low Carbon Environment. The project sought to calculate the vulnerability of Taipei City, Taichung City, Kaohsiung City and Yilan City to extreme rainfall. The Foundation also organized press conferences and seminars to lobby the government to set standards for building water retention and road retention. These would be coupled with an increase in runoff volume for sewer systems to solve the problem of extreme rainfall.

Due to the potential impact of global warming on bio-diversity, the Foundation also sponsored a post doctoral researcher to conduct research related to bird migration and climate change at Yale University. Particular emphasis was placed on the comparison between different islands in the hopes of using the impact on birds to raise the general public's awareness of global warming.

Delta is also working closely with top academic institutions on the development of pioneering technologies. The joint NCKU-Delta research center set up in 2008 has been focusing its research efforts on medical technology, new energy, energy storage, energy-saving and their management applications. By leveraging the strengths of both parties, it is hoped that scientific and technology research of value to the industry can be developed and make a contribution to human scientific progress, socio-economic progress and the sustainable environmental development of the planet.

Disaster Relief for Japan Earthquake

On March 11, 2011, the Tohoku region in Japan experienced a massive earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter Scale. The earthquake and the tsunami it triggered caused severe damage with more than 20,000 dead or missing. The nuclear disaster at Fukushima that followed led to widespread social unrest in Japan as well. After the disaster, employees at Delta's Japan subsidiary (DEJ) immediately donated 2 Million Yen to the Japan Red Cross. Donations of disaster relief supplies from Delta employees such as blankets, food and drinking water were also quickly delivered to disaster victims in Iwate and Miyagi Prefecture. The Delta Group also launched an employee fundraising drive that raised NT$3,490,000 for the Delta Foundation. The donations went into the "Japan Disaster Relief Project" of the Delta Foundation that then worked closely with DEJ to assist with post-disaster reconstruction efforts in Japan's Tohoku region.

Disaster Relief for the Thailand Floods

In 2011, Thailand experienced its worst floods in half a century. Two straight months of torrential rains flooded 80% of the administration regions in Thailand, damaged more than 700,000 buildings, left more than a million people homeless and caused incalculable financial damage. The Delta Foundation and Delta Electronics Thailand (DET) launched a joint "Thai Floods Donation Drive" and raised more than NT$1,000,000. The Foundation then set up a "Thai Disaster Relief Program" to work closely with DET to deliver aid from Delta employees to Thailand's disaster regions. DET employees also organized a volunteer group to help repair the Bang Pa-In Rachanukroh 1 School, one of the disaster-affected schools.

Post-Disaster Reconstruction of Min-Chuang Elementary School in Namasia, Kaohsiung

In 2009, Typhoon Morakot flooded southern Taiwan with nearly 3000 mm of rainfall. Delta founder Bruce Cheng believes that mankind must learn how to live in harmony with nature, and to this end, the Delta Foundation and Delta Group donated NT$500 Million to help the government rebuild elementary/junior high schools in the disaster area and transform them into comfortable, healthy green buildings.

After conducting a safety assessment of the new site, Delta immediately set about rebuilding the Min-Chuang Elementary School in the Namasia district of Kaohsiung City. As the Min-Chuang Elementary School is located 8km away from the village and only accessible by an agricultural road, this made the transportation of construction materials very difficult. Construction was also delayed when the No. 21 Taiwan Highway was washed out twice, cutting links with the lowlands. Eventually, Delta's active coordination as well as round-the-clock construction finally saw the building permits issued in 2011. In February, 2012, the new elementary school buildings were completed and commissioned. The rebuilt campus is not only expected to achieve the top rating of Green Building certification in Taiwan (Diamond rating) but also has a stand-alone library that incorporates solar and wind power systems provided by Delta. The library will be essentially "Net-Zero" in terms of energy consumption, setting an example for the next-generation "Green Campus". The construction team also paid attention to biodiversity indicators during design and construction. As indigenous townships usually enjoy relatively abundant ecological resources, local plants were left on campus where possible to preserve the local eco-system and reduce environmental impact. Methods used include no asphalt paving on campus, using local boulders in the foundation to tamp down the ground, setting up eco-ponds, providing habitats, introducing indigenous plants and preventing light pollution from buildings at night. Delta will continue to promote green building ideals and support reconstruction efforts in the disaster area.