The legislature’s Economics Committee yesterday passed a non-binding resolution demanding that state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) transform the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮), New Taipei City (新北市), into a liquefied natural gas (LNG) power plant.
The resolution, initiated by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), asked the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) to change the plant into a natural gas plant.
Taking lessons from the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident in the US and last year’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster in Japan, Ting said the power plant should be changed into a thermal power plant as was done to the William H. Zimmer nuclear plant in Moscow, Ohio, in 1991.
Since the plant is only 20km to 30km away from Taipei, Ting emphasized that a nuclear disaster would devastate the nation’s densely populated north.
The controversial nuclear plant has been under construction since 1997 and is a financial burden on the country, Ting said, adding that the government has already poured more than NT$100 billion (US$3.41 billion) into it.
Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said during the question-and-answer session yesterday that the ministry would need to conduct a thorough assessment of the proposal.
A cost-benefit analysis is required before undertaking the proposal, especially since the cost of generating electricity with nuclear energy is less than NT$2 per kilowatt-hour, about NT$2 less than that with LNG, he said.
Chai Fu-feng (蔡富豐), the chief nuclear energy engineer of Taipower’s power generation department, said it is not feasible to make the conversion.
“Moreover, it will be challenging to build a natural gas pipeline, which will take more than 10 years to complete,” Chai said. “It will cost a lot more to purchase new equipment for the new plant.”
The proposal is to be passed to the legislature for final approval.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned