The government could revise the rules on the use of nuclear power, if the public agrees, to meet electricity needs to drive economic growth and industrial development, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday.
Kung made the remarks in response to opposition lawmakers who said that minister of economic affairs-designate J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) called nuclear power “a clean energy source” during his courtesy visit to the legislature one day earlier.
Opposition lawmakers and trade groups have pressed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government to reconsider phasing out nuclear power in the pursuit of net zero carbon emissions next year, saying that nuclear power is cheaper and environmental hazards could be controlled.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The government would go ahead and raise the share of renewable energy sources in line with its pursuit of a nuclear-free policy, said Kung, who is to serve as Cabinet secretary-general after the power transition next week.
“Authorities could revisit the issue if there is a change to the energy policy or the power mix,” he said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei.
If a majority of Taiwanese favor rule changes, the issue would be open for discussion, Kung said.
Taiwan’s current renewable energy output falls way behind the 20 percent target for next year, but the government would strive to bolster its contribution, NDC Deputy Minister Kao Shien-quey (高仙桂) said.
Coal and gas generated 77.6 percent of energy last year, while renewable energy accounted for 10.5 percent and nuclear power plants supplied 6.31 percent, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) said in January.
Green energy sources would remain insufficient, because Taiwan’s economy grows rapidly and depends heavily on power-consuming technology firms to meet fast-growing global demand for artificial intelligence applications, Kao said.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract maker of advanced chips, consumes the bulk of electricity to fulfill orders from Apple Inc, Nvidia Corp, Intel Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and other technology giants.
The EU counts nuclear power as a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels, with stiff safety and waste disposal requirements, meteorologist Peng Chi-ming (彭啟明), who is to be the new minister of environment, said during an online interview on Wednesday.
A high social consensus would be necessary for the incoming administration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to extend the service of existing nuclear power plants, as the move would contradict the stance of outgoing President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Peng said.
Electronics maker Pegatron Corp (和碩) chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) during said that he used to oppose nuclear power, but had changed his stance, as the safety issue has become manageable due to technological progress.
Green energy farms also pose environmental hazards, but in a less evident manner, Tung said.
Tung had turned down Lai’s invitation to be premier after protest from his family, he said.
DAMAGE REPORT: Global central banks are assessing war-driven inflation risks as the law of unintended consequences careens around the world, spiking oil prices Central banks from Washington to London and from Jakarta to Taipei are about to make their first assessments of economic damage after more than two weeks of conflict between the US and Iran. Decisions this week encompassing every member of the G7 and eight of the world’s 10 most-traded currency jurisdictions are likely to confirm to investors that the specter of a new inflation shock is already worrying enough to prompt heightened caution. The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to do exactly what everyone anticipated weeks ahead of its March 17-18 policy gathering: hold rates steady. The narrative surrounding that
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) share of the global foundry market rose to almost 70 percent last year amid booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI), market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Thursday. The contract chipmaker posted US$122.54 billion in revenue, up 36.1 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 69.9 percent of the global market, TrendForce said. Its share was up from 64.4 percent in 2024, it said. TSMC’s closest rival, Samsung Electronics, was a distant second, posting US$12.63 billion in sales, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier, for a 7.2 percent share of the global market. In the
HEADWINDS: The company said it expects its computer business, as well as consumer electronics and communications segments to see revenue declines due to seasonality Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it aims to grow its artificial intelligence (AI) server revenue more than 10-fold this year from last year, driven by orders from neocloud solutions clients and large cloud service providers. The electronics manufacturing service provider said AI server revenue growth would be driven primarily by the Nvidia Corp GB300 server platform. Server shipments are expected to increase each quarter this year, with the second half likely to outperform the first half, it said. The AI server market is expected to broaden this year as more inference applications emerge, which would drive demand for system-on-chip, application-specific integrated circuits
At a massive shipyard in North Vancouver, Canadian workers grind metal beams for a powerful new icebreaker crucial to cementing the country’s presence in the increasingly contested arctic. Icebreakers are specialized, expensive vessels able to navigate in the frozen far north. And “this is the crown jewel,” said Eddie Schehr, vice president of production at the Seaspan shipyard. For Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who heads to Norway next Friday to observe arctic defense drills involving troops from 14 NATO states, Canada’s extreme north has emerged as a strategic priority. “Canada is and forever will be an Arctic nation,” he said ahead of
RSS