TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Economic Affairs said Taiwan will suspend nuclear power generation after the No. 2 reactor at the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung is decommissioned on Saturday.
Taipower said that nuclear power accounted for over 10% of Taiwan's electricity generation in 2016, but that figure fell to around 3.6% between January and March. This move aligns with the government's commitment to a "nuclear-free homeland" policy, aiming to phase out nuclear energy by 2025, per CNA.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that new power generation units will be added to the grid this year, allowing Taiwan to maintain 10% reserve capacity during the day and 7% at night. He assured the power supply will remain stable through 2032.
This year, nearly five million kilowatts of large gas-fired power units will be added to the grid. The new facilities are located at the Datan power plant in Taoyuan, the Hsinta power plant in Kaohsiung, and a power plant in Taichung. Their combined capacity far exceeds the 950,000 kW produced by the No. 2 reactor at the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant.
The Datan power plant is a crucial electricity source for the north, Taipower said. The agency is constructing three gas-fired power units at the facility with a total capacity of 3.16 million kW. Two of the units began operations last year, and the third unit is scheduled to come online this summer.
Taipower also reported that wind and solar energy have been steadily growing. In April, solar power average generation exceeded 10 million kW in a single day, while wind power surpassed three million kilowatts. These renewable sources accounted for about one-third of Taiwan's electricity generation during that period.
The KMT and TPP legislative caucuses proposed amendments to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act, seeking to extend license renewal deadlines for aging nuclear power plants and ease restrictions on their reactivation.
Economics Minister Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) said that if the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant's operation were extended, restarting it would take about 1.5 years, mainly due to the time required to procure new fuel rods. He emphasized that these fuel rods are custom-made for each plant's conditions, and that additional safety reviews could further prolong the restart process.
Taipower said that spent nuclear fuel must first be placed in cooling pools at the plant to dissipate heat. Subsequently, the fuel will be transferred to interim storage facilities for approximately 40 years before its final relocation to a permanent disposal site.
Numerous local governments have opposed the establishment of nuclear waste storage facilities within their jurisdictions. Taipower added that the continued use of nuclear power requires new legislation or the revision of existing laws related to nuclear waste management.
