Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), the nation’s biggest electricity producer, said it had extinguished a fire at a spare transformer at its No. 3 nuclear plant and that the station’s two generating units were unaffected and operating normally.
The transformer, between 100m and 200m from the plant’s reactors, wasn’t in use when the accident occurred, Hsu Hwai-chiung (徐懷瓊), vice president of the state-run utility, said at a press conference yesterday.
‘FAULT’
“Our initial investigation indicates that it was probably caused by a fault in the transformer,” Hsu said.
The fire broke out at around 3:15pm after a sudden surge in pressure triggered an oil leak, Hsu said.
SAFE
The fire was extinguished by 3:48pm without any radiation leaks or injuries, he said.
Taipower operates three nuclear power plants and is building another. Nuclear-fired stations accounted for 21 percent of the country’s electricity output in April, the company’s Web site said.
The No. 3 station is about 6km from the southern beachside Hengchun Township (恆春) and has two units, each with a capacity of 951 megawatts. It started commercial operation in 1983, Hsu said.
THIRD FIRE
The latest fire was the third since the plant began commercial operation.
Taipower said that none of the incidents caused radiation leaks.
CHANGE OF FORTUNES: Concern over a pricey valuation and the risk of tighter US curbs on chip sales to China have poured cold water on TSMC’s bullish momentum Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) shares fell the most in three months yesterday upon trading resumption, joining a global technology rout as investors dramatically soured on the promises of artificial intelligence (AI). The shares declined 5.62 percent to close at NT$924 in Taipei, dragging down the benchmark TAIEX, which fell 3.29 percent to 22,119.21 points amid a technical correction, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Other chip stocks also fell, with ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) plunging 9.86 percent, MediaTek Inc (聯發科) dropping 2.35 percent, Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱) falling 1.33 percent and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) retreating 1.17 percent, while Apple
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution Ltd is slowing construction of its third plant with General Motors Co (GM) in Michigan amid lackluster demand for electric vehicles (EVs) and worries about political change in the US. LG Energy is “adjusting the speed of overall investment” and “seeking ways for the flexible operation” of its plants, the company told Bloomberg News yesterday, but added that it does not mean the company is suspending construction. LG and General Motors started construction of the facility in 2022, pledging to spend about US$2.6 billion. Operations were supposed to begin in the first half of