The DPP yesterday released an evaluation of the benefits of abandoning the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, arguing that adopting alternatives would benefit Taiwanese people in terms of economics, their health, the environment and sustainable development.
At a press conference held at the Legislative Yuan yesterday, DPP legislators claimed the new report refuted Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) and Atomic Energy Council (AEC) claims that using nuclear energy was the only solution to Taiwan's power shortage.
"Information included in our report can be considered as far more reliable than that which has been disseminated by agencies who support the development of nuclear power -- because they have never seriously considered adopting alternative energy sources," DPP legislator Lai Chin-lin (賴勁麟) said.
"The Ministry of Economic Affairs' (MOEA) soon-to-be-announced special team to review the project should take our report into account when conducting their work," Lai said.
Suggestions for alternative energy solutions presented in the report include: adopting liquefied natural gas, increasing energy efficiency in Taiwan, adjusting the structure of the industry, and lib-eralizing the power industry.
Co-authors of the 74-page document said that among other factors taken into account during their comprehensive analysis were the plant's economics, safety risks, environment impact, and possible legal complications.
"The cost of generating nuclear power is not as economically rosy as Taipower claims," said Wang To-far (王塗發), an economist from National Taipei University (台北大學). Wang illustrated his point by stating that 119 proposals to build nuclear power plants in the US had been canceled between 1972 and 1990, simply because the economics didn't work
Wang said that Taipower had underestimated the cost of total investment, using as evidence the fact that cost overruns on the second and third nuclear power plants ran at 2.8 and 2.5 times the initial estimated costs respectively.
"Don't forget that we still have to consider the plant's decommissioning cost and expenses involved in treating the radioactive waste it will generate. In addition, we need to take into account unseen costs the plant will bring about, such as from social disturbances and environmental deterioration," Wang said.
Public health experts said the AEC's data concerning the "safe dose" for humans exposed to ionizing radiation was out of date, and that it differed from the level updated by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in 1990 by a factor of five.
"Speaking as a doctor, there is no safe threshold for exposure to low-dose radiation," said Wang Jung-der (
The five co-authors of the report have been included in the MOEA's project review task force. The Executive Yuan approved the list of 20 members yesterday.
"Anti-nuclear activists will form a minority within the group, but we hope the team's internal debates will be made available to the public," said Shih Shin-min (
Meanwhile, TEPU is arranging for several well-known US energy experts to visit the MOEA early in August, in a bid to highlight the advantages of adopting alternatives.
Armory Lovins an energy expert and co-CEO of the US-based Rocky Mountain Institute, has called for energy-efficient technology to tackle future demand since the 1970s, and is expected to share his inspirations on energy policy with the new government.
Other experts include Henry Kelly, director of the Federation of American Scientists, an organization founded in 1945 by members of the Manhattan Project who produced the first atomic bomb, to address the implications and dangers of the nuclear age.
‘CROWN JEWEL’: Washington ‘can delay and deter’ Chinese President Xi Jinping’s plans for Taiwan, but it is ‘a very delicate situation there,’ the secretary of state said US President Donald Trump is opposed to any change to Taiwan’s “status quo” by force or extortion and would maintain that policy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Hugh Hewitt Show host on Wednesday. The US’ policy is to maintain Taiwan’s “status quo” and to oppose any changes in the situation by force or extortion, Rubio said. Hewitt asked Rubio about the significance of Trump earlier this month speaking with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) at the White House, a meeting that Hewitt described as a “big deal.” Asked whether the meeting was an indication of the
‘RELATIVELY STRONG LANGUAGE’: An expert said the state department has not softened its language on China and was ‘probably a little more Taiwan supportive’ China’s latest drills near Taiwan on Monday were “brazen and irresponsible threats,” a US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, while reiterating Washington’s decades-long support of Taipei. “China cannot credibly claim to be a ‘force for stability in a turbulent world’ while issuing brazen and irresponsible threats toward Taiwan,” the unnamed spokesperson said in an e-mailed response to media queries. Washington’s enduring commitment to Taiwan will continue as it has for 45 years and the US “will continue to support Taiwan in the face of China’s military, economic, informational and diplomatic pressure campaign,” the e-mail said. “Alongside our international partners, we firmly
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS