Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) and the government should not presume that nuclear power is the only energy choice, Academia Sinica researcher Yen Hung-yang (嚴宏洋) said yesterday, calling on the government to look into other options, otherwise it would be difficult for Taiwan to shoulder the consequences should anything untoward happen at any of the nation’s nuclear power plants.
Yen pointed to a decision by German Chancellor Angela Merkel — who is a physicist specializing in nuclear physics — to halve the use of nuclear power in Germany, adding that two months after the Fukushima Dai-ichi disaster in Japan, Germany closed down eight of its 17 nuclear power plants.
Germany is highly industrialized, and it logically places an emphasis on the provision of sufficient energy to its citizens, Yen said, adding that Merkel had the guts to order an immediate halt to over half of the nation’s supply of nuclear energy because the German government had started investing in green energy over two decades ago.
Wind-power generators are almost ubiquitous in Germany, and most houses have solar panels on their roofs, Yen said, adding that the ratio of green energy output in Germany exceeded 20 percent of the entire national power grid.
Taiwan meets the prerequisites for generating green energy, and while it lacks the sheer land mass of Germany, southern Taiwan is almost permanently bathed in sunlight, while western, northwestern and eastern Taiwan offer excellent locations for wind power turbines, Yen said.
The government could even choose to construct offshore wind turbines, he said, adding that while it might drive overhead costs up, locating turbines offshore would free land for other uses and address the problem of noise generated by the turbines.
Most importantly wind power does not cause pollution, Yen said.
“Our ancestors were wise enough to leave us with the adage ‘Don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ and it’s time the government started looking at alternatives to nuclear power,” Yen said.
The Fourth Nuclear Power Plant is a mishmash of different parts, and the quality of Taiwan’s public construction has always been questionable, Yen said, adding that he did not understand why the government was set on constructing the power plant.
“It might be that some people stand to gain from the construction, but Taiwan does not have the capital to survive a nuclear disaster,” Yen said, adding that if an incident similar to the one that occurred at Fukushima happened in Taiwan, the island would be finished.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
RSS