Sun, Mar 22, 2026 page8

• Safety first in nuclear power debate

  • By Chen Kuan-lin 陳冠霖
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  The debate over restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County has been amplified by certain groups amid rising tensions in the Middle East, creating the impression that Taiwan is on the verge of an energy crisis and acting as if all energy-related issues could be solved by bringing the plant back online.

  For the government to rush a restart on this basis would be a rash decision. However, if a restart is pursued, the following conditions must met to satisfy the most basic requirements.

  The Ma-anshan plant was built when Taiwan did not yet have environmental impact assessment regulations. Therefore, the environmental conditions of the plant were not subject to thorough study or review. If a decision is made to grant the plant a typical 20-year license extension, a new environmental impact assessment should be conducted to ensure that the site is safe.

  The Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Japan’s Fukui Prefecture is a representative example. When Japan moved to promote the restart of nuclear power, assessments revealed the presence of an active tectonic fault beneath the plant site. As a result, the decision was made to decommission the plant rather than to extend its operation. While the Japanese government has strong demand for nuclear energy, it still adhered to the safety first principle.

  Although restarting the Ma-anshan plant would be easier than doing the same for the Kuosheng nuclear power plant in New Taipei City — where spent fuel pools are already full — necessary refurbishment and inspection remain fundamental requirements for any license extension. Cutting corners would be detrimental to public safety and the stability of the nation’s power supply.

  The Ministry of Economic Affairs has said that if equipment conditions are good and limited replacements are required, the restart timeline could be shortened. Some have misinterpreted this to mean that operations could resume in as little as two years. This is a grave misunderstanding. The restart of the plant must be approached with rigor — a predetermined timeline should not be imposed simply to justify an extension. After all, the entire overhaul and inspection process for an operation extension would likely require substantial upgrades to equipment and piping to ensure safe and stable power generation in the long-term.

  Lastly, there is the issue of gas supply disruptions and power outages. In operating a power grid, the possibility of any given energy source being interrupted should already be taken into account. In the short term, coal-fired power can still be used to support energy demand — it is not necessarily the case that restarting the Ma-anshan plant is the only option. In fact, coal-fired generation is a much more flexible method in wartime conditions. It differs from natural gas, which has limited storage capacity, and nuclear power plants, which carry the risk of being seized or targeted during an armed conflict.

  Any restart of the Ma-anshan nuclear power plant should prioritize overall safety, rather than being driven by temporary fuel shortages or emotional blackmail and intimidation from those with particular interests. Only by truly upholding nuclear safety considerations could a restart effectively dispel public doubts — a point that even proponents of nuclear energy would likely agree on.

  Chen Kuan-lin is a research manager from Taipei.

  Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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