The government should not return to nuclear energy after transitioning to renewable energy, and old nuclear power plants must retire as scheduled, environmental activists told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan on Tuesday.
Whether the new government led by president-elect William Lai (賴清德) would tap into nuclear energy to address the power shortage problem after taking office on Monday next week has been closely monitored by the activists.
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), chairman of contract electronics maker Pegatron Corp, said last week that non-nuclear renewable energy would not be sufficient for the world to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Taiwan could immediately raise its non-carbon-emitting power to about 50 percent of its energy mix from the current 16 percent by building a new kind of nuclear power plant designed by Finish engineers called OL3 and extending the service of the Guosheng and Ma-anshan nuclear power plants, he said.
Tung’s comments have raised particular attention as he is vice chairman of the New Frontier Foundation, a Democratic Progressive Party-affiliated think tank.
Compared with companies in other countries, Taiwanese companies have relatively cheaper access to power because of government subsidies, Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association chairman Chen Hsien-cheng (陳憲政) said.
As such, one cannot accurately gauge how their production processes have damaged the environment and at what costs, Chen said.
Extending the service of the two nuclear power plants or building new ones would only keep the electricity charge low, and more companies would be less motivated to invest in energy-conserving equipment, he said.
Taiwan is a high-risk zone for natural disasters, with earthquakes, tsunamis and extreme weather more likely to occur than in other countries, Chen said.
“Aside from costs needed to shore up the safety of these facilities against natural disasters, have we taken into account the costs of handling nuclear waste and removing decommissioned power plants? All costs would have to be borne by the people,” he said.
“Generational justice would not be served if we enjoy cheaper power now and let our next generation bear the consequences,” he said.
Taiwan Environmental Protection Union chairman Yeh Kuo-liang (葉國樑) said that the government would have to spend a huge sum overseeing the treatment of nuclear waste.
“The waste would need to be stored for more than 10,000 years before the radiation would drop to a safe level. If problems occur during the process, it could cause cancer and other illnesses. Nuclear energy is expensive and dangerous,” Yeh said.
“Taiwan should advance further in the development of renewable energy, power storage system and smart power grid,” he said.
Citizens Association For Public Policies executive director Chen Hsueh-li (陳雪梨) said supporters of nuclear energy should first explain what they would do with the nuclear waste and their evacuation plans for people living within 20km of a nuclear power plant.
“The country should not be divided by energy policy,” she said, adding that Taiwan has the natural resources to develop geothermal energy.
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