TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Dry cask storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel for the First Nuclear Power Plant passed administrative mediation with the New Taipei City Government on April 1, paving the way for safer, below ground storage facilities.

Mediation cleared the way for the construction of a facility beginning on June 12 and the removal of spent nuclear fuel from reactor pools at the end of September, with the facility put into use as early as 2025. A similar nuclear waste storage facility for the Second Nuclear Reactor has made similar progress. 

Previously, Taipower had received approval for a wastewater runoff pollution plan for dry cask nuclear waste storage, though construction delays required an extension application, which was later denied. The case languished in the courts, though Taipower said New Taipei City Government took up the case once again on Thursday (July 11), with a decision expected in six weeks, per CNA.

With approval from municipal authorities, Taipower said that construction on the new dry-cask facility could begin in January. Taipower said it would then expect to obtain an operation license by mid-2026, which would be followed by the transfer of spent nuclear fuel from waste pools to the new dry cask storage facility shortly thereafter.

According to the Nuclear Safety Commission, spent nuclear fuel storage pools used to store spent fuel from the First and Second Nuclear Power Plants are nearly full, and fuel pool storage space at the Third Nuclear Power Plant is limited and may only be available for four more years.

The Nuclear Safety Commission said that no matter if nuclear power plants are decommissioned or have their service extended, dry cask storage facilities should be constructed to replace nuclear waste fuel pools and to ensure the safety of the public.