Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) is expected to submit a plan to restart two decommissioned nuclear power plants to the Nuclear Safety Commission by March next year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
The ministry in a statement said that it has approved Taipower’s evaluation report, which found it was feasible to restart the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春).
However, the report concluded that restarting the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) was not feasible, because its two reactors were decommissioned more than eight years ago and its equipment has severely aged, the ministry said.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
Following the evaluation, Taipower would draft restart plans for the two nuclear power plants and launch safety inspections, including assessments of how badly the plants’ equipment has aged and their seismic resilience, it said.
Inspections at the Ma-anshan plant would require peer review and assistance from the original manufacturer, a process that is expected to take about one-and-a-half to two years to complete, the ministry added.
The process would take longer at the Guosheng plant, because its used nuclear fuel must be removed from the reactor and stored before safety inspections can be carried out, the ministry said.
The evaluation report was carried out in response to amendments to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) passed in May, which provide a legal basis for continuing to operate nuclear power plants even after they have entered the decommissioning stage.
The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant was shut down on May 17.
Taiwan’s three nuclear power plants, which generated about 15 percent of the nation’s electricity as recently as 2014, have all been decommissioned.
Nuclear power advocates have said the plants should be restarted and that the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮), which was close to completion before being mothballed in 2014, be opened and used to give Taiwan a source of low-emission electricity.
The Energy Administration said that for the first nine months of this year, about 85 percent of Taiwan’s electricity was generated by fossil fuels.
An unauthorized drone intrusion over Ching Chuan Kang Air Base (清泉崗基地) at Taichung International Airport on Tuesday night forced the temporary closure of the base, diverting eight fighter jets and delaying a commercial flight, authorities said. Air Force Command Headquarters said that clear weather had allowed for scheduled night training exercises, but after a drone was spotted entering the airspace, the control tower declared an emergency closure of the airport, forcing eight Indigenous Defense Fighter jets in the air to divert and land at Hsinchu Air Base (新竹基地). Taichung airport director Chang Jui-shu (張瑞澍) said the airspace intrusion lasted from 7:37pm to
The air force plans to build 26 more hardened aircraft shelters as the number of F-16Vs stationed along Taiwan’s east coast is expected to reach 120 when the final shipment of 66 jets procured from the US arrives. The incoming jets would be stationed at Chihhang Air Base in Taitung County, augmenting the F-16V Block 20s operated by the 5th Tactical Fighter Wing in Hualien County, officials said yesterday. The air force plans to allocate more than NT$6.88 billion (US$218.1 million) from next year to 2031 to build the shelters in Hualien and Taitung as part of the implementation of a “one
Indonesian rescuers searched for eight people who went missing at sea while heading to a volcanic island to report on an eruption there, officials said yesterday. Anak Krakatau initially erupted for about 25 hours over the weekend, and it has since continued to erupt intermittently with explosions ejecting lava, ash and incandescent volcanic material from the crater, the Indonesian Geology Agency said in a statement. A speedboat carrying five photojournalists, two crew members and a route guide lost contact after leaving Carita, a coastal town in Banten Province, for the volcanic island, Banten Province Search and Rescue Office Chief Al Amrad said. He
NO LIMITS: More legislation expanding Beijing’s control over the movement of people, money and information raises risks for Taiwanese travelers and businesses, officials said China is set to implement several laws in the coming months that expand the definition of national security, creating greater risks for Taiwanese traveling to or doing business in China, Taiwanese officials said yesterday. Beijing’s Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law took effect on July 1, while a draft “Internet Information Service Management Measures” finished its public consultation on Aug. 2, but has yet to be adopted. China’s Regulations of the State Council on Exit and Entry Administration are to take effect on Tuesday next week, while amendments to its National Defense Mobilization Law and the Ministry of Public Security’s Measures
RSS