A number of academics have called for a halt to the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Gongliao District (貢寮), saying the cost of electricity generation using nuclear energy is not as low as the government estimates and that paying the huge penalty for breach of contract in exchange for the plant’s suspension and the nation’s safety would be a “real bargain.”
Citing the controversy-plagued power plant’s initial feasibility report, National Taipei University economics professor Wang To-far (王塗發) said the report projected a construction budget of about NT$169.7 billion (US$5.8 billion) and forecast the cost of power generation by the plant, which was originally scheduled for completion in 2000, at NT$2.709 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), including a fixed cost of NT$1.908.
However, with construction expenditure reaching nearly NT$330 billion, assuming the plant went into operation in 2000, the fixed cost per kWh would rise to NT$3.71, raising its nuclear electricity generation cost to NT$4.51 per kWh, Wang said.
“If changes in the wholesale price index were factored in, the electricity generation cost for the plant could have further increased to NT$5.83 per kWh in 2011, which is about 8.83 times the number estimated by [state-run] Taipower [Taiwan Power Co],” he said.
Wang added that the figure was also higher than the average cost of about NT$3.3 per kWh for electricity generated by nuclear power plants in the US, based on calculations by the US Department of Energy.
“The [nuclear] power plant’s electricity generation cost could surge to NT$9 per kWh should costs for its maintenance, decommissioning and nuclear waste disposal also be included, which would be far higher than the costs for electricity generated using oil [NT$3.206 per kWh], coal [NT$3.89 per kWh] and gas [NT$5.756 per kWh],” Wang said.
National Taiwan University chemical engineering professor Shih Shin-min (施信民) said the site’s structural problems could never be solved by allocating more money.
“As the international community has yet to discover a proper approach to the disposal of nuclear waste, it is hard to estimate the cost of the potential impact of the plant on the marine ecosystem, the divisions and unrest it would cause in society, as well as potential damage in the event of a nuclear disaster,” said Shih, who is also the founder of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union.
Green Citizens’ Action Alliance secretary-general Hung Shen-han (洪申翰) said that with people setting higher standards for nuclear safety, the cost of nuclear-powered electricity would inevitably be higher in the future due to the need to buy more safety equipment.
The underlying problem of the nation’s seemingly insufficient electricity supply does not lie in whether the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant should go into operation, but in the problematic calculation mechanism for future electricity demand growth employed by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Hung said.
OFFLINE: People who do not wish to register can get the money from select ATMs using their bank card, ID number and National Health Insurance card number Online registration for NT$6,000 (US$196.32) cash payments drawn from last year’s tax surplus is to open today for eligible people whose national ID or permanent residency number ends in either a zero or a one, the Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Officials from the ministry revealed which days Taiwanese and eligible foreigners would be able to register for the cash payments at a joint news conference with the Ministry of Digital Affairs. Online registration is to open tomorrow for those whose number ends in a two or three; on Friday for those that end in a four or five: on Saturday
TECH PROGRAM: A US official said that an important part of the delegation’s trip would be to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co executives The US is to send officials in charge of chip development to Taiwan, Japan and South Korea to promote cooperation in the global semiconductor supply chain, the US Department of Commerce said on Tuesday. Chips Program Office Director Michael Schmidt announced the visit, which marks the first time officials from the office are to visit the three nations since it was set up in September last year. “As semiconductors and technologies continue to evolve, the United States will keep working with allies and partners to develop coordinated strategies to ensure that malign actors cannot use the latest technologies to undermine our collective
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials are investigating why a Starlux Airlines flight to Penang, Malaysia, returned to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport nearly two hours after takeoff yesterday morning. The airline said in a statement that Flight JX721 to Penang took off from Taoyuan airport at 9:20am. “After the dashboard showed a signal of an abnormality in the hydraulic system, the captain followed standard operating procedures and returned the flight to Taoyuan airport for safety precautions,” the airline said, adding that the flight landed safely at the airport at 11:04am. The airline arranged for the passengers to have lunch after the flight landed and
WORKING UP AN APPETITE: Sales at the Rueifong Night Market surged 20 to 30 percent, while seats at Liouhe Night Market were packed until 1am, market officials said South Korean pop band Blackpink’s concerts over the weekend in Kaohsiung helped draw large crowds to local night markets, the Kaohsiung City Government said yesterday. The two concerts on Saturday and Sunday at Kaohsiung National Stadium drew more than 90,000 people. The city government offered NT$50 vouchers to spend locally to concertgoers who showed their ticket stubs. Liouhe Night Market (六合夜市) management committee head Chuang Chi-chang (莊其章) said that crowds over the weekend surged at about 10pm and the market remained packed until 1:30am. “Almost all the seats were filled,” Chuang said. Night market stall owners had stocked up in expectation of an increased number