It would cost at least NT$1.12 trillion (US$40.5 billion) to make the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮) operational, much more than it would cost to suspend construction now, the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance said yesterday.
The civic group said that while Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) has “threatened” the public by saying that electricity prices would rise sharply if nuclear power is abandoned — promoting the misconception that the nation must choose between tolerating potential risks to public safety or expensive electricity — other energy options exist.
In a 30-page report detailing the “real” cost of finishing the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and the viability of alternatives to nuclear power, the group said it used data gathered from Taipower reports and from other countries that use nuclear energy to calculate the cost of operating the plant and debunk the lies told by the government.
Photo courtesy of the Humanistic Education Foundation
Alliance chairperson Lai Wei-chieh (賴偉傑) said that while aborting construction of the plant may cost about NT$10 billion in penalties for breach of contract, the cost of operating the plant for 40 years would amount to NT$1.1256 trillion — excluding the cost of compensation and reconstruction if a nuclear disaster were to occur.
The group arrived at the figure by adding up the cost of implementing precautionary earthquake measures (NT$10.2 billion), additional construction (NT$46.2 billion), nuclear fuel (NT$380 billion), operation and maintenance (NT$380 billion), plant decommissioning (NT$186 billion), high-level nuclear waste disposal (NT$110 billion) and low-level nuclear waste disposal (NT$13.2 billion).
The reason why Taipower tells the public that electricity use would be restricted if nuclear energy is abandoned is because it has always overestimated the growth of electricity demand, alliance board member Chao Chia-wei (趙家緯) said.
He said that the state-run company had estimated that demand for electricity would increase 48 percent from 2010 to 2025.
“However, statistics on the past 10 years show that electricity demand has grown by just 30 percent,” he said. “In addition, given that economic growth was less than 2 percent during the same time period, the nation should reconsider its industrial structure to encourage higher energy efficiency.”
“The public has caved to the threats of skyrocketing electricity prices before, but we hope everyone can break away from this binary opposition and find a new model for economic development,” Lai said.
The group suggested that the government follow the policy of several European countries and aim for zero growth in electricity demand by adjusting industrial structures, improving energy efficiency and developing sustainable energy.
It added that using the NT$1.1256 trillion that would be spent operating the plant to develop “green” energy would generate about 5.3 times more electricity than would be provided by the plant and also create at least 40,000 jobs.
When asked if electricity prices would be much higher if the building of the plant is aborted, Chao said that calculations based on Taipower’s statistics show that prices would increase by just 0.4 percent, which would translate into about NT$4 or NT$5 a month per household.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. Philippine authorities were assessing the damage from the quake, with the office of civil defense seeking to verifying initial reports that 15 people had been killed and 129 injured in the region, mostly from falling debris. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province,
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
‘GRAY ZONE’ PRESSURE: Beijing’s activities are intended to create the deceitful impression that China has jurisdiction over the area around Taiwan, the CGA said Taiwan’s rights over its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone must not be violated by any country, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that it will not accept any unprovoked actions. The council issued the remarks in response to the China Coast Guard conducting maritime enforcement drills near eastern Taiwan and claiming to fully exercise China’s maritime administrative law enforcement authority. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has been closely monitoring the situation and is taking concrete steps to defend the nation’s sovereignty and secure its waters, the council said. China has no sovereign rights over the waters off eastern
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS