The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has no feasible plan to deal with spent nuclear fuel rods at nuclear plants, environmental groups said yesterday, as they criticized the energy platform of the party’s presidential candidate, New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜).
Former vice premier Woody Duh (杜紫軍) accompanied Hou as he presented the a national energy platform for his presidential campaign.
Hou said Taiwan’s transition to renewable energy would require restarting two decommissioned nuclear plants, and the decision to stop construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) would have to be reviewed.
Photo: CNA
The key to reduce carbon emissions is to cut down on burning fossil fuels, Hou said.
If elected, Hou said he would conduct maintenance and safety inspections of the two decommissioned nuclear power plants in the hopes of extending their lifespan.
Hou said he would also get experts to assess the possibility of restarting work on Gongliao plant.
The main goals of Hou’s green energy platform are a “low-carbon Taiwan” by 2035, a “zero-coal Taiwan” by 2040 and a “net zero Taiwan” by 2050.
However, the Green Citizens’ Action Alliance and other environmental groups said that Hou and the KMT have not offered a solution for handling and disposing of spent nuclear fuel, and are trying to deceive the public into believing that nuclear energy is a “miracle cure” that can solve the nation’s energy problems.
“As the KMT’s presidential candidate, Hou cannot evade these critical questions, including how to ensure nuclear plants operate safely, how to treat the spent fuel rods, where to store the nuclear waste and other pivotal issues,” alliance secretary-general Tsui Shu-hsin (崔愫欣) said.
“Hou’s platform is an old one, based on the earlier ideas from [former president] Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, and advisers of [former Kaohsiung mayor] Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜),” Tsui said.
“Their thinking is to reduce natural gas, replacing it with nuclear power to achieve green energy goals,” she said.
“In doing so, they are ignoring the long-standing problems, including Taiwan’s frequent earthquakes and operational safety issues, and there is no space for nuclear waste storage,” Tsui said.
The KMT always brings out nuclear power as a miracle cure at election time, she added.
Tsui said that if Taiwan’s decommissioned nuclear power plants were restarted, the rate of mechanical failures and breakdowns would be much higher, and no one could even say whether they would pass safety inspections.
Hou also wants to review and restart the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, which would be a step backward, Tsui said.
“So are we going to waste another 10 years on its construction, and throw another NT$50 billion [US$1.57 billion] down this bottom-less pit?” she asked.
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