The Legislative Yuan yesterday abolished a provision in Article 95 of the Electricity Act (電業法) stipulating that all nuclear energy generation facilities must stop operations before 2025.
The amendment was passed in compliance with the result of last year’s Referendum No. 16, which asked: “Do you agree that subparagraph 1, Article 95 of the Electricity City, which reads: ‘Nuclear-energy-based power-generating facilities shall wholly stop running by 2025,’ should be abolished?”
The referendum passed with 5.89 million “yes” votes and 4.01 million “no” votes.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The article now states that the government should set plans to move forward work on the final disposition of low-level nuclear waste, so as to deal with the low-level waste currently stored on Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼).
The National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform said that the result of the referendum does not mean the public is not concerned about nuclear power and the global trend toward renewable energy shows that using nuclear energy is by no means the right path.
The referendum does not affect the government’s goal of achieving a nuclear-power free homeland, the group said in a statement.
Citing opposition by local governments and the problem of nuclear waste disposal, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) in January said that Taiwan would not extend the service life of its nuclear power plants.
He added that it would not finish the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, whose completion was blocked by popular opposition in 2014 and then mothballed.
Among Taiwan’s three active nuclear power plants, the first two are expected to be decommissioned by March 2023 and the third by May 2025.
Nuclear power supporters have argued that Taiwan should complete the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant or extend the service life of existing ones to safeguard against power shortages.
On March 19, they drafted a proposal for a new referendum question that would ask voters if they agree with completing the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant project and putting it into operation.
The proposal passed an initial screening and is awaiting verification of signatures by household registration offices.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
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A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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