Restarting the use of nuclear power in Taiwan would pass the nuclear waste problem to the next generation and is not in line with environmental justice, several anti-nuclear groups said yesterday, citing the country’s proneness to natural disasters and the lack of a nuclear waste disposal site.
President William Lai (賴清德) earlier in the day signaled that he was open to restarting two decommissioned nuclear plants to meet an expected increase in power demand driven by the artificial intelligence sector.
Taiwan in May last year ended operations of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, the last active nuclear facility in the nation.
Photo: CNA
Lai confirmed that work has begun to secure approvals for restarting the decommissioned Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Wanli District (萬里) and the Ma-anshan power plant, adding that state-owned Taiwan Power Co has launched the preparatory procedures and is expected to submit a restart plan to the Nuclear Safety Commission by the end of this month.
Nuclear safety, nuclear waste disposal and public consensus are the three key factors to be considered by the commission, Lai said.
Homemakers’ Union and Foundation Taichung branch director Geng Ming-yi (耿明誼) said nuclear waste remains an unsolved issue in Taiwan.
A 2019 survey showed that 60 percent of the public opposed having nuclear waste stored near their communities, she said.
It is unclear where the waste would be stored if Taiwan restarts nuclear power plants, she said.
“How, then, can nuclear power be restarted without addressing this? Doing so would pass the problem to the next generation, disregarding Taiwan’s future and environmental justice,” she said.
Taiwan Academy of Ecology chairman Liu Hung-chang (劉烘昌) said anti-nuclear groups had put in a lot of effort to make Taiwan a “non-nuclear homeland,” but nuclear power is set to be restarted in such a hurry.
Taiwan is not well-suited for nuclear power plants, given its frequent earthquakes, typhoons and fragile geology, he said.
Most importantly, a solution for storing nuclear waste has yet to be found, he said.
“How, then, can nuclear power be safely restarted? A fire at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant last March underscores the need to take nuclear safety seriously,” he added.
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