Former US Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman Gregory Jaczko yesterday said that nuclear energy is playing an increasingly insignificant role in electricity generation worldwide, and that, contrary to popular belief, it is actually more expensive than a range of methods of energy generation.
At a news conference in Taipei, Jaczko said that the future for nuclear power generation in the US and worldwide is one of “decreasing use and eventual phase-out.”
Referencing data generated by the US commission, Jaczko said that even if all US nuclear power plants were able to renew their operational licenses, the use of the energy source in the nation would come to an end by about 2055.
Diminishing use of nuclear power is a global trend, with just about 70 reactors under construction worldwide — a small fraction of operational reactors worldwide, he said, adding that the majority being built are in China.
The number of new plants is much lower than the number of facilities scheduled to be decommissioned, he said.
“The countries that have nuclear power plants are not building anywhere close to the amount of plants they need to replace existing plants,” Jaczko said. “Given the long lead time to build the plants, the cost and other factors, it is unlikely that nuclear energy will play a significant role in electricity generation in the next several decades.”
There is more than enough time for governments to look into alternative technologies without compromising their carbon reduction goals, he said, adding that global energy use is expected to grow significantly over the next 30 years.
He said that energy from nuclear power plants is not as inexpensive as advocates claim.
Referring to a chart compiled by the US Energy Information Administration in 2013, Jaczko said that the “total system levelized cost” for power plants utilizing advanced nuclear energy stood at US$108.40 per megawatt-hour (mWh), while for plants generating power from natural gas with carbon sequestration technology or from geothermal sources, costs were US$93.40 and US$89.60 per mWh.
The estimates skip the money required for nuclear waste disposal and site decommissioning, which constitute the most expensive part of such plants, he added.
Asked to comment on a plan by the state-run Taiwan Power Co to ship nuclear waste to France to be reprocessed, which has been proposed based on an agreement for cooperation between Taiwan and the US, Jaczko said that nuclear waste of US origin must gain US approval before it can be exported.
“Just because it is in the agreement does not mean it has to be done,” he said, adding that Taipower’s plan “does not make any sense.”
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and