Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday temporarily shut down the nation’s nuclear energy generation as the state-run utility started regular maintenance on the remaining reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant for 41 days.
The No. 2 reactor of the nation’s only active nuclear plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) is set to be decommissioned next year. The No. 1 reactor has been offline since July.
The shutdown is to perform equipment maintenance and fuel replacement in preparation for the power plant’s next operating cycle, Taipower said in a statement.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
With support from other energy sources, Taipower would ensure sufficient power supply during the 41-day period as it aims to maintain its operating reserve margin — or spare capacity at times of peak consumption — at 10 percent during the day and more than 7 percent at night, it said.
Taiwan is poised to become the first non-nuclear nation in East Asia after the No. 2 reactor closes down in May next year, although there is a continuing debate among ruling and opposition parties as well as within society about whether to extend the service life of the Ma-anshan plant amid fears about potential power shortages.
Nuclear power last year accounted for 6.31 percent of the nation’s energy use, which is dominated by coal at 42.24 percent and liquefied natural gas at 39.57 percent, while renewable energy only contributed about 9.47 percent and hydroelectricity 1.08 percent, Energy Administration data showed.
When the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office in 2016, then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) proposed a nuclear-free homeland policy by next year, setting a target energy mix of 50 percent natural gas, 30 percent coal and 20 percent renewable energy, but President William Lai (賴清德) is facing greater pressure to review the structure of the energy mix as public worries about the dangers of nuclear energy have been replaced by a fear of power shortages.
It comes as Taiwan’s power consumption is forecast to grow by an average of 2.8 percent per year through 2033, driven mainly by the ever-growing energy use in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, and as the government aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 to help combat climate change.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Taiwan is “very open” to using new nuclear technology to meet surging demand from chipmakers and the AI industry — one of the strongest signs yet that the DPP government is rethinking its opposition to nuclear energy.
“As long as there is a consensus within Taiwan on nuclear safety, and a good direction and guarantees for handling nuclear waste, with this strong consensus we can have a public discussion,” Cho said on Thursday last week.
“We hope that Taiwan can also catch up with global trends and new nuclear technologies,” the premier said, adding that he has asked Taipower to make sure that personnel related to the decommissioned reactors stay in their jobs.
“This is because we need to prepare for future nuclear technology developments and to respond to any potential legal changes in Taiwan,” Cho said.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS