With the impacts of extreme climate change, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ desert-ensconced host for the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), was inundated in one day with a deluge of rainfall that exceeded what it normally receives in an entire year.
Taiwan also experiences droughts every two to three years. Moreover, the so-called “hundred-year floods or droughts” of the past have become regular occurrences. Add on an active seismic zone and Taiwan’s national development must soberly face climate issues.
However, when the media widely reports on the water levels of Shihmen Reservoir (石門水庫) in Taoyuan, we see Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) and other city and county heads criticizing the nation’s energy policies, using water shortages and earthquakes as excuses to advocate the use of aging and risky nuclear power plants.
Science has proven that water shortages and energy policies are unrelated.
The decommissioning of unit 1 of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門) started in 2018. Prior to that, the nation had droughts in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2017. Even as water supply was an issue, the nation’s nuclear power plants continued to operate as usual.
Hydroelectric power plants rely on water supply to function and generates power depending on daily water levels. In comparison, nuclear power plants often experience load shedding when the cooling water overheats.
This shows that nuclear power could also take a hit from climate extremes, and earthquakes have of course also led to grave nuclear disasters.
Natural disasters impact energy generation, transportation and delivery infrastructure, leading to power outages. That and the protracted use of aging nuclear power plants are two separate issues. Just because some elected officials favor keeping nuclear power does not give them license to conflate separate issues and mislead the public.
The criticism of renewable energy sources is also delaying the transition to net zero emissions — the conclusion of the COP27 was centered on tripling the development of renewable energy, yet some attendees supported the continued use of high-risk nuclear power, sparing no efforts to tarnish the accomplishments and records of renewable energy sources.
There was once a constant chorus about how “water shortages are caused by solar power panels impacting rainfall,” but once ample precipitation records proved that was false, the misleading narratives shifted to how “solar power installations at fish farms are creating breeding grounds for dengue-fever bearing mosquitoes,” and so on.
These fallacies do nothing to help Taiwan move toward net zero emissions.
Water shortages and earthquakes should be cause for protecting mountainous areas from development.
Taoyuan in 2004 had to suspend water supply for two weeks and cough up NT$15 billion (US$461 million) to clean up the Shihmen Reservoir after Typhoon Aere.
However, Chang last week decided to steam ahead with the development of Lalashan (拉拉山) by shortening the timeline for ecological impact assessments.
Chang has relaxed the strict regulations on development of mountainous slopes, yet when it comes to the crippling effects of earthquakes on nuclear power plants, he has dragged out the scheduled phasing out of aging nuclear power plants when they should not be delayed.
Mayors and county commissioners who support the continued use of aging nuclear power plants should accept spent nuclear fuel rods with open arms.
Officials such as Chang, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and Yunlin County Commissioner Chang Li-shan (張麗善) oppose phasing out nuclear power plants, yet the issue of what to do with spent fuel rods and waste remains.
When the Taitung County Council was to vote on sending low-level nuclear waste from contentious storage facilities on Orchid Island (蘭嶼) to Taitung to be processed, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration opposed the plan.
With KMT mayors and county commissioners supporting the continued use of aging nuclear power plants, it seems odd that they did not jump at the chance to welcome a facility for handling spent nuclear fuel so as to alleviate doubts over the storage of nuclear waste.
Chen Bing-heng is chairman of the Matsu Fish Conservation Union.
Translated by Tim Smith
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