The construction of outdoor casks for the storage of high-level radioactive waste for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里), the reactor units of which stopped operating in 2021 and last year respectively, is to start next year after getting approval from the New Taipei City Government last week.
However, the spent nuclear fuel could not be moved out for dry cask storage, a process that needs to be undertaken when a power plant is decommissioned, and guarantees safer storage than putting spent fuel in the liquid pool, Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) Vice President Tsai Chih-meng (蔡志孟) said on Friday.
The city government declined Taipower’s environmental protection proposal for several years, leading the company to file a lawsuit to the Taipei High Administrative Court in 2020, which moved the case to mediation earlier this year.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Power Co
The mediation was completed in June and the city government approved Taipower’s “soil and water conservation plan” for dry cask construction this month, Tsai said.
More time would be needed for preparation before the construction officially begins early next year, Tsai said, adding that the spent fuel is expected to be moved out of the pool starting in late 2026.
At the same time, indoor dry casks are also scheduled to be built for more storage space, a Taipower spokesperson said.
While there have been calls to extend the life of the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant following the completion of the outdoor dry casks, Tsai said the casks would allow for no more than five years of plant operation.
Indoor dry casks would have to be built for longer operations, but the extension of the plant’s license would have to be approved by the legislature and the necessary safety checks completed, he said.
The bid for the construction of indoor dry cask storage facilities for the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant is expected to take place next year, Taipower said.
Meanwhile, outdoor dry cask storage facilities for the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shimen District (石門) were built in 2013, but never used after the city government discovered unapproved design changes.
The city government fined Taipower for the infraction and declined to approve a resubmitted proposal that included the design changes. Mediation was completed in April after Taipower filed a lawsuit, and the spent fuel is expected to be completely moved to dry casks by early 2026.
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