Taiwan yesterday shut down the No. 1 reactor of its only active nuclear plant, poised to become the first non-nuclear country in East Asia after the last reactor’s license expires in May next year.
The closure of the No. 1 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Ma-anshan (馬鞍山) comes amid a continuing debate among lawmakers about whether to extend the service life of the nation’s existing atomic energy facilities.
Before the closing of the No. 1 reactor, nuclear power accounted for about 5 percent of the nation’s energy use, which is dominated by coal and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Photo courtesy of the Taiwan Power Co
The state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said that with the closure of the No. 1 reactor, the total percentage of power generated by nuclear sources would fall to 2.8 percent.
To assuage public concern regarding power stability, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said it has negotiated with Sun Ba Power Corp (森霸電力) to use the power generated from its No. 3 LNG unit to buttress the power generation shortfall.
The unit can generate 1,100 megawatts, which is greater than the 951 megawatts put out by the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s No. 1 reactor, the ministry said.
However, phasing out nuclear power generation and replacing it with LNG would bring other challenges regarding power prices and carbon emissions, industry observers said.
Energy security is a critical issue in Taiwan and its chipmaking industry, led by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電).
The issue has taken on added importance as Beijing exerts more pressure on Taipei.
The tensions are stoking concerns that China could potentially limit Taiwan’s energy supplies through a military blockade.
The 2011 meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan helped turn popular opinion in Taiwan against the industry.
The government said it would not rule out boosting nuclear power’s share of the energy mix, but said the technology needs to improve.
The last reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant is set to close in May next year. Both it and the No. 1 reactor’s closing are planned retirements after about 40 years of use.
The moves buck a global trend of renewed interest in nuclear energy, which produces no greenhouse gas emissions, but results in toxic waste that can remain radioactive for millennia.
Lawmakers this month debated for hours over whether to reverse course on the government’s plan to completely phase out nuclear power, although no vote was taken.
The use of nuclear energy has long been a source of contention between the ruling and opposition parties.
When the Democratic Progressive Party took office in 2016, then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said her goal was to make Taiwan nuclear-free by next year, setting a target energy mix of 50 percent natural gas, 30 percent coal and 20 percent renewables.
Opposition parties have advocated restarting nuclear reactors.
Taiwan now expects renewable energy to comprise one-quarter of its energy mix by 2030, up from about 12 percent this year.
Power consumption is forecast to grow by an average of 2.8 percent a year through 2033, driven by the artificial intelligence sector.
While Taiwan has a surplus of electricity, according to Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), that growth could crimp the excess supply in the years ahead.
Additional reporting by Lin Chin-hua
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Friday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
RSS