The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) has approved state-run Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) proposal to shutter the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮).
The plan is to take effect in July and run until 2017.
Taipower submitted the plan in September last year in compliance with an Executive Yuan directive from the previous April, which said the plant was to be shuttered after construction of its No. 1 reactor ceases following a safety assessment, and that construction of its No. 2 reactor should not begin, the council said.
AEC Department of Nuclear Regulation division head Tsao Sung-nan (曹松楠) said the plan underwent several revisions, including a timetable submitted in October last year covering when the company would complete logistics regarding the closing of the plant, as well as clarifications of how improvements would be made such that the proposal is in line with the opinions of the council’s assessment committee.
The final version of the plan was submitted on Jan. 22, and the committee passed it on Thursday last week following a review.
Taipower is to maintain safety on the perimeter of the site after factoring in the facility’s design and functions to ensure the machinery does not corrode, Tsao said.
Taipower spokesperson Lin Te-fu (林德福) said that there are 126 systems at the plant that will need to be monitored during the time it is sealed.
There are 80 systems that will require uninterrupted operation, including cooling systems — which involve the desalination of seawater and supply of cold water — air conditioning, as well as electricity supply and a number of motors, Lin said.
There are also 14 systems that require regular testing, such as a diesel-driven power generator that forms part of the plant’s first reactor, while the remaining 32 systems are to be sealed in nitrogen to be kept from humidity and remain dormant, he said.
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