Legislators and environmentalists yesterday called for energy conservation in a bid to decrease demand for nuclear power, and accused the Legislative Yuan of failing to set a good example on energy conservation.
On the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster yesterday, the groups said that areas contaminated by the accident in Ukraine add up to four times the area of Taiwan, while the nation’s seismic risks and dense population mean it should do all it can to avoid a nuclear disaster.
Taiwan Environmental Protection Union founding chairman Shih Hsin-min (施信民) said the best way to phase out nuclear power plants is to conserve energy.
“The nation could shut down two nuclear power plants if it reduced electricity use by 30 percent. The nation could become nuclear-free while bolstering economic development if it invests more in renewable energy,” Shih said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Man-li (陳曼麗) presented a document showing an analysis of the Legislative Yuan’s electricity use, with the report saying the nation’s highest lawmaking body is energy-inefficient, as it uses devices that require a lot of power.
Replacing the Legislative Yuan’s lighting system with LEDs, updating the air conditioning and water heaters, and setting up an automatic power management system would cut the Legislative Yuan’s power consumption by 30 percent, Chen said, adding that the legislature should take the lead in saving power.
Yenliao Anti-Nuclear Self-Help Association secretary-general Yang Mu-huo (楊木火) said the legislature has passed the Water Supply Act (自來水法), which prohibits water-inefficient systems, but the Legislative Yuan itself still uses them.
Developing sources of renewable energy is another important step toward a nuclear-free nation, but only the Presidential Office Building and Ministry of National Defense, Environmental Protection Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Economic Affairs and National Security Bureau buildings have installed solar panels, which combined can generate only 225.13 kilowatts of electricity, barely enough to supply a household’s monthly power demand, Chen said, adding that none of those top government agencies has purchased “green” electricity.
Former DPP legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋菫) said the cost of saving a unit of electricity is far cheaper than generating a unit of electricity, which requires building a power plant, while energy conservation is at the heart of the US’ national energy development plan.
“The government should combine conservation with social welfare, such as constructing green affordable housing for lower-income households so they pay less in electricity and water fees,” Tien said.
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