Taiwan’s last operating nuclear reactor gradually began to reduce its power generation yesterday afternoon before completely shutting down at midnight, fulfilling the government’s promise to make Taiwan nuclear-free.
The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid at 10pm, state-run Taiwan Power Co (台電, Taipower) said.
The removal of the reactor core’s fuel rods is expected to start two days later and last one to two weeks, the company said.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The fuel rods would be stored in spent fuel pools.
The reactor has generated less than 3 percent of Taiwan’s electricity at times of peak demand, but alternatives would make up for the shutdown, Taipower said.
New gas-fired units with capacity of about 5 gigawatts would be added to Taiwan’s electricity mix, far exceeding the 950 megawatts produced by the No. 2 reactor at Ma-anshan, it said.
Photo: CNA
The Cabinet has said it has no plans to extend the No. 2 reactor’s operation even though the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment earlier this week allowing nuclear facilities to extend their operating lifespans by 20 years.
The phasing out of nuclear power has been a goal of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) even before it took power in May 2016.
Nuclear power accounted for more than 16 percent of the nation’s energy mix before 2015.
The DPP has advocated eliminating nuclear power in favor of renewable energy and fossil fuels.
Although the DPP in 2016 set a goal of renewable energy generating 20 percent of the nation’s electricity by this year, it would likely fall short of the target, after alternative energies accounted for 11.6 percent of energy generation last year, according to Energy Administration statistics.
Fossil fuels accounted for more than 83 percent of Taiwan’s energy mix last year, including 39.3 percent coal, complicating the fight to reduce carbon emissions.
Local residents have mixed opinions on the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, which began operations in 1984.
Chang Tao-hung (張道宏), whose family has lived in Hengchun Township’s (恆春) Tougou Village (頭溝) for five generations, said he opposed extending the Ma-anshan plant, because Taiwan’s high population density, limited land area and active fault lines made it unable to withstand a nuclear disaster.
The plant being near a fault line poses a high risk, Chang said, adding that there is no definitive solution for the disposal of nuclear waste in Taiwan.
Pingtung County Environmental Protection Alliance president Chang Yi (張怡) said that after the Ma-anshan plant’s decommissioning, the site would be used for the installation of solar panels.
Considering that, land speculation, the unstable supply of power and the tarnishing of the local landscape could be issues of concern, Chang Yi said.
Nuclear power is superior in output stability, carbon footprint reduction and cost-effectiveness compared with other alternatives, but the challenges of spent nuclear fuel disposal negate these advantages, Taipower said.
The Nuclear Backend Fund (核能發電後端營運基金) would need at least NT$477.4 billion (US$15.8 billion), it said, adding that the price tag might increase to NT$500 billion due to inflation.
Spent fuel rods from reactors are supposed to be removed to the reactor pool extension for temporary storage, followed by indoor or outdoor dry storage, centralized storage, then final disposal in a permanent storage facility, Taipower vice president Tsai Chih-meng (蔡志孟) said on Friday.
Due to legal disputes with New Taipei City, only the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant has an outdoor dry storage facility, he said.
The Jinshan and Guosheng nuclear power plants need additional capacity in indoor and outdoor dry storage, and the Ma-anshan plant’s indoor dry storage would not be completed at least until 2031 he said.
Taiwan’s three nuclear power plants produced half of the nation’s electricity at their peak, but dropped to a quarter of the total after being overtaken by coal-fired plants in the 1990s, it said.
Last year, nuclear power contributed to 4.2 percent of the nation’s energy mix, public information published by the government-run Environment Information Center showed.
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