Lee Yuan-tseh (李遠哲), a Nobel laureate and former president of the Academia Sinica, yesterday endorsed nuclear power over traditional coal-fired power and called for global collaboration on developing alternative energies.
Lee made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the National Energy Conference, which brings together government officials, academics, industry representatives and environmentalists to discuss major energy issues.
Lee cited official statistics from the US government, saying Taiwan’s carbon dioxide emissions in 2006 were 13.19 tonnes per capita, making it the third-biggest per capita polluter after the US and Australia, with 19.78 tonnes and 20.58 tonnes respectively.
This illustrates the severity of Taiwan’s emissions problem, Lee said, adding that this was the primary reason he supported nuclear energy.
But efficiency must be improved at the nation’s nuclear power plants, Lee said, as only 5 percent of the energy generated at nuclear plants is transformed into power, while the remaining 95 percent becomes waste material.
Another academic at the forum said Taiwan could not produce enough energy through clean sources to sustain itself.
“No ... alternative sources of energy, be it wind, solar, natural gas [or others] could [produce enough] to support the nation’s consumption of power because we simply don’t have enough land to install [the facilities],” said Liang Chi-yuan (梁啟源), a research fellow at the Academia Sinica’s Institute of Economics.
Another guest speaker, Michael Nobel, chairman of the Nobel Charitable Trust, said at the press conference it was “simply unsustainable” for everyone to live “the American way.”
“Governments, industries and scientists must work together now before it’s too late,” he said.
Nobel said high oil and fuel prices alone would motivate investment in alternative energy.
He praised technologies developed by Taiwanese company CQi Inc (縱橫網路資訊), which fosters “intelligent environment” systems that automatically turn off systems such as lighting, air-conditioning and other electrical equipment when they are not in use.
Nobel disagreed with Lee on nuclear power, saying it was neither “renewable, nor sustainable.”
“It is basically the same as pumping oil,” he said.
Instead, he said Taiwan should focus on its achievements in solar technology to alleviate over-reliance on nuclear and coal-fired energy.
JITTERS: Nexperia has a 20 percent market share for chips powering simpler features such as window controls, and changing supply chains could take years European carmakers are looking into ways to scratch components made with parts from China, spooked by deepening geopolitical spats playing out through chipmaker Nexperia BV and Beijing’s export controls on rare earths. To protect operations from trade ructions, several automakers are pushing major suppliers to find permanent alternatives to Chinese semiconductors, people familiar with the matter said. The industry is considering broader changes to its supply chain to adapt to shifting geopolitics, Europe’s main suppliers lobby CLEPA head Matthias Zink said. “We had some indications already — questions like: ‘How can you supply me without this dependency on China?’” Zink, who also
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) received about NT$147 billion (US$4.71 billion) in subsidies from the US, Japanese, German and Chinese governments over the past two years for its global expansion. Financial data compiled by the world’s largest contract chipmaker showed the company secured NT$4.77 billion in subsidies from the governments in the third quarter, bringing the total for the first three quarters of the year to about NT$71.9 billion. Along with the NT$75.16 billion in financial aid TSMC received last year, the chipmaker obtained NT$147 billion in subsidies in almost two years, the data showed. The subsidies received by its subsidiaries —
At least US$50 million for the freedom of an Emirati sheikh: That is the king’s ransom paid two weeks ago to militants linked to al-Qaeda who are pushing to topple the Malian government and impose Islamic law. Alongside a crippling fuel blockade, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM) has made kidnapping wealthy foreigners for a ransom a pillar of its strategy of “economic jihad.” Its goal: Oust the junta, which has struggled to contain Mali’s decade-long insurgency since taking power following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, by scaring away investors and paralyzing the west African country’s economy.
RE100 INITIATIVE: Exporters need sufficient supplies of renewable energy to meet their global commitments and remain competitive, the economics ministry said Local export-oriented manufacturers, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), require sufficient supplies of green energy to maintain their competitiveness and regulations already ensure that renewable energy development adheres to environmental protection principles, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, as the legislature imposed further restrictions on solar panel installations. The opposition-led Legislative Yuan yesterday passed third readings to proposed amendments to three acts — the Environmental Impact Assessment Act (環境影響評估法), the Act for the Development of Tourism (發展觀光條例) and the Geology Act (地質法) — which would largely prohibit the construction of solar panels in some areas. The amendments stipulate that ground-mounted solar
RSS