Nuclear power is not the cheapest way to generate electricity, as President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration claims, former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) yesterday said at the No Nuke Asia Forum (NNAF), citing statistics showing the price of nuclear energy per kilowatt-hour (kWh) is significantly higher than that of energy produced by wind or natural gas.
Citing a survey conducted by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, which compared the cost of 23 methods of energy production last year — including wind, solar, geothermal and natural gas — Lu said that the government has been lying to the public in saying that nuclear energy is the most cost-efficient method of generating electricity.
The survey showed that, even calculated from a 92 percent facility utilization rate, which Lu said is considered an ideal circumstance for nuclear plants, the cost for nuclear energy per kWh was about US$0.14, significantly higher than the price per kWh of energy generated from geothermal, hydraulic, or wind sources, which stood at US$0.065, US$0.077 and US$0.082, respectively.
Using the example of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster in Japan, she said the fact that the Japanese government decided to continue using nuclear energy after the accident serves as a reminder that there is still much work to be done before people can live up to the ideal of a world without nuclear power.
“Sadly, governments around the world apparently value economic development more than anything else,” she said.
She also said New Taipei City — inhabited by more than 7 million residents yet also the site of three nuclear plants — was the “most unfortunate city in the world.”
“There would not be a chance to escape if a nuclear disaster should occur,” she said.
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