Former Academia Sinica president Lee Yuan-tse (李遠哲) recently said that because the risk of human extinction is far worse than that of nuclear disaster, he approves of extending the service life of Taiwan’s nuclear power plants and the construction of new plants. However, Taiwan’s nuclear power plants are quite distinct from others around the world. Even with this plan, how much carbon emissions could be reduced by 2030?
The selection of locations for nuclear power plants follow rules similar to the US’: Power plants cannot be constructed within 8km of an active fault exceeding 300m in length. When Taiwan’s four nuclear power plants were constructed, geological research was not as advanced as it is today.
There is only about 5km to 7km between the first and second nuclear power plants and an active fault, a geological survey conducted after 2014 found. The Hengchun Fault directly passes through the third nuclear power plant. The three operational nuclear power plants are sources of constant concern and are soon to be decommissioned. Deciding to extend operations now is tantamount to digging our own grave.
With regard to nuclear fuel rods, Taiwan has the same issue as the US: There is no clear solution to handling the waste or where to store the spent rods. The density of radioactive waste in the spent fuel pools of the first and second plants is four to five times higher than the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan, which experienced a nuclear disaster after a magnitude 9.0 earthquake in 2011. If a similar disaster were to occur in Taiwan, it could be catastrophic.
The second power plant has essentially been decommissioned. All critical equipment have been dismantled and vital power generating equipment have not been maintained in the past ten years. Its spent fuel pools are filled to the brim with used nuclear fuel rods and no dry storage sites have been constructed. There is no way to remove the fuel rods from the nuclear reactor cores, so they cannot be replaced with new ones to continue operations. The plants must set up dry storage sites, and reconstruct and maintain equipment that has already been removed. If that could be completed by 2030 to extend plant operations, it would be unbelievably fast.
The first reactor at the Third Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County is set to retire on July 27, and the No. 2 reactor’s license expires in May next year. Is it really okay to extend operations?
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) in 2014 said that in order to extend the operations of the Third Nuclear Power Plant, its steam generators would have to be replaced to increase future operational efficiency. It would have cost NT$15 billion (US$460.7 million). Ten years ago, the plant required updated machinery, but now it does not? The assembly of steam generators takes around five years. Even if we were to purchase them now, completing assembly, shipping, installation and testing before the end of 2030 would require a Herculean effort.
What about constructing new plants? Nuclear power must account for 30 percent of all power, Pegatron CEO Tong Tzu-hsien (童子賢) said. The Third Nuclear Power Plant’s two reactors account for 5 percent of all generated power. Reaching 30 percent would require at least five times that of the Third Nuclear Power Plant, meaning at least five new plants would need to be constructed. Why do not we conduct a poll and see which cities and counties would be willing to house these new plants? There are also 58 nuclear power plants under construction around the world. They take at least six years to complete. If Taiwan were to begin construction right now, could they be completed by 2030? Even if it were possible, it would not occur until sometime after 2030, maybe even 2040, assessments of international research institutions and resource consulting firms showed.
Placing all our hopes on nuclear power to solve Taiwan’s carbon reduction dilemma by 2030, or even by 2050, is not just delusional, but dangerous. Addressing climate change is not just about energy policy. We must face the reality that the environment has changed. Policies that reduce carbon emissions and measures to adjust to the environment must be implemented simultaneously. Focusing on nuclear energy as our sole climate solution is extremely inadvisable.
Yang Shun-mei is secretary-general of the Mom Loves Taiwan Association.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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