Broadcasting Corp of China chairman Jaw Shaw-kong (趙少康) yesterday called on the government to extend the use of the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, and to resume construction of the mothballed Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao Dictrict (貢寮).
The government has said it would phase out nuclear power by 2025 as part of a plan to shift to green energy.
Jaw cited a report by the European Parliament on Wednesday that included nuclear power among the green energy options for the EU to encourage related investment.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co
Jaw said the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) should follow the EU’s example.
He said that it should continue using the Guosheng and Maanshan nuclear power plants past 2025, and finish construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant.
The EU in the past had similarly advocated phasing out nuclear energy, but its position on the issue has changed, the Democratic Progressive Party should also re-examine the issue and change its stance on nuclear power, he said.
Jaw cited the South Korean government as saying that it would increase nuclear-power generation by 30 percent — which would lower energy costs in the nation — and asked how Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co would be able to compete with its main competitor, Samsung, should that happen.
Jaw also questioned whether the government’s plan to build a liquefied natural gas terminal off Keelung, near the city’s Hsieh-ho (協和) Power Plant, would be safe and whether it would affect coastal scenery.
The Environmental Protection Administration is expected to review the terminal’s environmental impact assessment on Sept. 30 after the proposal failed to pass a review on Thursday.
In response, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said that the government was not rushing the abolition of nuclear power, but needed to resolve the issue of disposing of nuclear waste and work out how to cooperate with local governments where nuclear plants would be located, she said.
Taiwan Power Co in its modified proposal sought to reduce the environmental impact of the Keelung project, particularly its effects on coral and scallops that grow in the area, she said.
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