TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan decommissioned Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant’s Unit 1 reactor on Saturday (July 27) at 10 p.m.

Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) said the Fong Der Power Plant, with its larger capacity, has been planned as a replacement, per CNA. The operating license for Maanshan’s Unit 2 is scheduled to expire in May 2025, per Liberty Times.

Maanshan consists of two units, each with an installed capacity of 951,000 kW, contributing about 15 billion kWh of electricity annually. With the retirement of Unit 1, the share of nuclear power will drop to 2.8%, Taipower said.

Taipower said after Unit 1 shuts down, necessary maintenance work will still be required. It will wait for the Ministry of Environment (MOENV) to pass the decommissioning environmental assessment and for the Nuclear Safety Commission to issue a decommissioning permit before entering the decommissioning phase.

Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said the nuclear issue should be divided into traditional and new nuclear energy. Traditional nuclear energy cannot solve problems, but new nuclear technology might see a breakthrough by 2030, he said.