Taipower chairman Chen Kuei-ming (陳貴明) told the legislature yesterday an additional NT$40 billion (US$1.15 billion) to NT$50 billion would be needed if the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is to reach a stage where its two generator units can begin operations in 2011 and 2012.
The additional funding would bring the construction costs at the Gongliao (貢寮), Taipei County, plant to between NT$270 billion and NT$280 billion, Chen said.
Also yesterday, Minister of Economic Affairs Yiin Chii-ming (尹啟銘) said it was unlikely that the plant would be completed this year as scheduled.
“It will probably take two more years,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said yesterday that a “minor alteration,” costing NT$1 billion, would allow the nation’s nuclear plants to add 1.7 percent to their annual electricity, enough to supply 100,000 families.
The reactor cores of the generators had been fitted with new flow meters for feedwater, deputy director of the Department of Nuclear Regulation Hsu Ming-te (徐明德) said.
Hsu said that feedwater is injected into the reactor core to be heated and turned into steam. The steam in turn pushes the main turbine generator to generate electricity.
“Traditionally, reactors are designed to withstand 102 percent of the heating generated by the reactor,” Hsu said.
This is because feedwater that flows into the reaction core is measured by a Venturi Meter, which has a mismeasurement range of 2 percent. As 2 percent means that more water would flow into the core, the reactors could overheat, he said.
With advanced equipment, more accurate ultrasonic flowmeters (UFM) with a 0.3 percent error range are now available, Hsu said.
This means that while workers at a nuclear plant only injected 100 parts of water into the reactor cores under the assumption that an extra 2 percent may have been put in, workers can now input 101.7 parts of water.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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