The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday urged President William Lai (賴清德) to include energy security in the national security briefing.
Taiwan became a “nuclear-free” nation, after the No. 2 reactor of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County’s Hengchun Township (恆春) was decommissioned on May 17.
However, state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) has used two coal-fired generators at the Hsinta Power Plant and is thought to have activated the Talin Power Plant, both decommissioned and in Kaohsiung, prompting concerns over the nation’s power supply.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
Lai in his inauguration anniversary speech last week said he would instruct his team to initiate a national security briefing for the heads of the opposition parties, expressing hope that it helps facilitate communications and cooperation between the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and opposition parties.
To truly engage in meaningful communications with the opposition, Lai should include the energy issue in the national security briefing, the KMT said.
The president ignores the issue by focusing on stabilizing electricity prices and supply instead of considering going back to nuclear energy to enhance energy resilience, it said.
Nvidia founder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) has also suggested that Taiwan invest in nuclear energy, it said.
Huang on Wednesday last week at a forum on artificial intelligence (AI) said that energy from all sources, including nuclear power, is needed.
“Taiwan should absolutely invest in nuclear, and it shouldn’t be a stigma to have energy,” he said.
AI development requires the government to prioritize diverse energy sources, including nuclear power, the KMT quoted Huang as saying.
An American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan survey showed that 82 percent of respondents said they were concerned about Taiwan’s energy supply, while local media reported that fossil fuel power generation accounted for up to 92 percent of it, and the nation’s energy security coefficient reached a dangerous high of 0.99, it said.
It also cited American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene as saying that Taiwan should consider nuclear energy and that Washington would be willing to provide technical support for nuclear development in Taiwan.
Lai is putting Taiwan in jeopardy by driving the nation into a nuclear-free era through the increased use of fossil fuels and the heavy reliance on imported energy at 97 percent, the KMT said.
If there is a regional conflict or disruption in the supply chain, Taiwan would lack the energy resilience it needs to defend itself, the party added.
While great powers such as the US are restarting nuclear reactors to cement their energy security and resilience, Lai chose to go against the trend, not only acting “irresponsibly” and risking domestic economic development, but also risking national security, it said.
The US has 96 active nuclear reactors, and 22 of them are expected to run for 80 years, while Japan has restarted 14 nuclear reactors, with the lifetime of eight of them extended to 60 years, it said.
The UK extended the lifetime of its four oldest nuclear power plants for at least 10 years to ensure energy supply, it said.
Finland has extended the lifetime of the Loviisa Nuclear Power Plant by 20 years until 2047, and Canada has revamped its Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, which is planned to run operations until 2064, it added.
Given that the annual growth rate of AI-related power demand is projected to be 25 percent to 30 percent, Lai is choking the future of Taiwan, the KMT said.
To follow the global trend and respond to people’s needs, the KMT has proposed amendments to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) to facilitate a return to nuclear energy, it said.
Separately, Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday said the alleged secret operation of decommissioned fossil fuel power plants rang an alarm bell about the DPP’s energy policy.
Many industrial leaders such as Pegatron Corp chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) have urged the government to invest in energy, because stable power supply is crucial to industrial developments, and electricity use in households and small businesses, Huang added.
Additional reporting by Lo Kuo-chia
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