Restarting work on the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and deferring decommissioning of the Guosheng plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and Ma-anshan plant in Pingtung County’s Ma-anshan (馬鞍山) would pose technical difficulties, so plans to do so are infeasible, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka said yesterday in response to a proposal by Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜).
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has said on numerous occasions that Taiwan would not face an energy shortage in the run-up to 2030, Kolas told a news conference in Taipei after a Cabinet meeting.
State-owned Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) in January said it plans to invest more than NT$400 billion (US$12.75 billion) to develop sources of renewable energy over the next 15 years, with the aim of expanding the nation’s total installed offshore wind power capacity to 180 megawatts and total installed solar power capacity to 100 megawatts by 2030.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
The government is dedicated to developing sources of renewable energy, with those currently installed allowing the nation to retain an operating reserve of 10 percent last month, despite peak summer demand for electricity, an unprecedented feat, she said.
The Executive Yuan reiterated that it is the government’s job to ensure a clean and stable supply of energy while maintaining public safety, she said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers denounced an energy policy proposed by the advisory team of Han’s, the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, calling it “deceptive.”
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said that she was frightened by Han’s promise to restart work at the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant and the shortsightedness of former premier Simon Chang (張善政), who is head of Han’s advisory team.
The plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) was officially mothballed in July 2015 during then-president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, while state-run Taipower last year started transporting unused fuel rods from the plant to the US.
The policy proposed by Han and Chang became an “evangelical meeting” to promote nuclear power, Kuan said.
While the DPP administration plans to generate 20 percent of the nation’s power from renewable sources by 2025, Han’s team’s proposal to generate 50 percent of total energy from renewable sources sounds unrealistic and needs more explanation, DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said.
Han’s team must clarify whether it wants to build additional nuclear power plants, Yeh said.
Separately, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Han should do more homework before commenting on energy policy, adding that New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi’s (侯友宜) concerns over nuclear waste and his hesitation to resume construction of the mothballed plant is more practical.
Taiwan does not face power shortages, she said, adding that any proposals to restart work on the plant need to answer the question about how to tackle nuclear waste.
Policy explanation requires pragmatic efforts over time, which should not be outsourced to an advisory team that actually comprises members from the previous KMT administration, Tsai said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from