Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday called for scrapping a deadline for nuclear power plants to apply for service life extensions in a bid to reactivate the shuttered reactors in New Taipei City’s Shihmen (石門) and Wanli (萬里) districts.
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower), which did not seek to renew the operating licenses for the reactors, in July 2019 started decommissioning the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Shihmen and the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli in March last year.
Under Article 6 of the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法), nuclear plants must reapply for an operating license after 40 years of service “within the period prescribed by the competent authorities.”
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Taiwan should not set limits on renewal applications to increase the energy supply and achieve net zero carbon emissions before 2050, Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) told a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
The plan would give the nation’s energy policy more flexibility, Wang said, adding that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) no longer possesses a legislative majority to counter KMT proposals.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) expressed support for extending the service of nuclear power plants when campaigning for president, she said.
“We believe that a coalition of opposition parties will be able to effect important changes to Taiwan’s energy policy,” she said, adding that nuclear power is a clean and efficient source of energy.
The Nuclear Safety Commission requires operators to apply for a new license five years before a reactor’s service life reaches 40 years, which KMT Legislator Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said called the main obstacle to the KMT’s proposal.
The amendments to the act would emphasize safety as the standard for license renewal instead of a time limit, he said.
Taiwan is not on track to generate 20 percent of the nation’s electricity from renewable energy sources next year, which shows that the DPP’s energy policy is in disarray, KMT Legislator Wu I-ding (吳怡玎) said, adding that the DPP should work with the opposition to resolve the national energy crisis.
Nuclear power can play a major role in a global transition to low-emissions energy systems, KMT Legislator Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) said, citing the International Energy Agency.
Nuclear energy is listed as a sustainable energy option by the EU, and South Korea has pledged to increase nuclear power from 27.4 percent of its energy mix to more than 30 percent, while US President Joe Biden established a US$6 billion fund to bolster the nuclear energy sector, Lee said.
“The global trend in energy policy is to make greater use of nuclear energy,” Lee said. “Taiwan’s energy policy must not be forced into the cul-de-sac of opposition to nuclear power.”
The Nuclear Safety Commission said that none of the deactivated reactors can be turned back on again since their fuel rods had been removed and placed in spent fuel pools for cooling.
Pools designated for use by the Jinshan and Guosheng plants are filled to capacity, while those for Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County — the nation’s sole operational nuclear energy facility — would have run out of space within a matter of years, it said.
Taiwan has no permanent facility for long-term nuclear waste storage. A planned fourth nuclear power plant in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) was never completed.
Greenpeace Taiwan said that nuclear energy is an obsolete technology and the international consensus is for its replacement by renewables.
Using nuclear power as a stopgap can forestall an economy’s transition to sustainable energy, as nuclear energy projects have been known to smother competing thermal energy proposals, it said.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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