The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) yesterday clashed over energy policy after Hou reiterated that he would back the utilization of nuclear power plants if elected president.
Hou is the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate in next year’s presidential election.
Taiwan might not have enough electricity reserves to ensure a stable power supply for the nation’s chipmakers to retain their competitive edge, Hou told a news conference after a meeting at city hall.
Photo: CNA
The DPP government’s plan to phase out nuclear power by 2025 is unrealistic and switching to gas-fired power plants would harm the environment, Hou said, adding that a mix of nuclear and renewable power should be the way forward.
DPP spokesman Chang Chih-hao (張志豪) said Hou should back his claims with evidence or “be exposed as the ignoramus in national policy and energy issues that he truly is.”
The KMT has for years made baseless allegations that Taiwan has an inadequate energy supply, but it was in 2016, the last year of Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) presidency, when the nation’s operating reserves fell to a nadir of 1.64 percent, Chang said.
Ma of the KMT approved the construction of fewer power plants than any president before or since, he said, adding that Hou, then-deputy mayor of New Taipei City, did not voice any concerns about energy supply.
Over the past five years, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) issued only five orange and one red alert for low operating reserves, he said.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has approved the construction of gas-fired plants that would increase the nation’s energy production by 91,000 kilowatts per hour (kWh), or triple the combined output of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) and the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里), Chang said.
Taiwan would not have an energy shortage as long as it continues to invest in energy storage technology and power grid resiliency, he said.
Taiwan is to generate 30,000 kWh of renewable electricity by 2030 as per the RE100 initiative, to which Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and the nation’s top enterprises have pledged themselves, Chang said.
The initiative’s definition of renewables does not include nuclear power, he said, adding that Hou does not understand the needs of industry or Taiwan’s international obligations.
Hou’s latest remarks are part of his pattern of taking credit for positive achievements, while pinning the blame for all negative developments on the central government, said Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱), spokesperson for Vice President William Lai’s (賴清德) presidential campaign.
The New Taipei City Government has sued Taipower multiple times over the past 10 years to prevent the storage of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants in its jurisdiction, he said.
Hou must explain to voters how he would deal with the issue of nuclear waste if elected, Chang said.
“Hou cannot push for nuclear power on the one hand and give empty platitudes [about storage] on the other,” he said.
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