The two nuclear reactors that have been sitting idle will not be reactivated unless all other means of providing a stable power supply have been exhausted, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said yesterday.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the World Congress on Information Technology in Taipei, Shen said that the government would make sure that all power generators are operating normally and that the construction of new power plants is on schedule.
The ministry is making efforts to improve load management and encouraging consumers to adopt energy-saving measures, he said.
It is also focusing on transforming the nation’s energy structure by increasing the ratio of “green” energy in the overall power supply, Shen said.
“If after all these efforts, we are still encountering difficulties, then we will start thinking about reactivating” the No. 1 reactor at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant and the No. 2 reactor at the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant, he said.
The two plants are in New Taipei City.
The government would first ensure that the two reactors are safe and then it would seek public support as well legislative approval to reactivate them, which were not put back in service after being repaired, he said.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has vowed to make Taiwan a “nuclear-free homeland” by 2025 by phasing out the existing three nuclear power plants — which together supply about 17 percent of the nation’s energy needs.
The government is planning to increase the number of natural gas-powered plants and is hoping that supply from alternative sources will also increase to meet overall demand.
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