Taiwan President promises to shut down existing nuclear plants

Nov 4 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Grace Soong The China Post, Taipei, Taiwan / Asia News Network

Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou promised Thursday that the licenses of the existing three nuclear power plants will not be renewed after they expire, and if the fourth power plant begins stable operations before 2016, early shutting down of the first nuclear power plant will be considered.

Ma, who is running for presidential re-election in 2012, held a press conference Thursday to explain the steps which his administration would take to reduce the use of nuclear power, and eventually attain the "nuclear-free" goal. The process will be gradual, and "safety will always be of top concern," he pledged.

Because of Taiwan's geographical nature -- surrounded by oceans and located in the seismic zone -- power generation is doomed to be challenging, Ma said, pointing out that currently, 99 per cent of Taiwan's energy supply is imported. As the government promotes new policies on energy and pushes for the operation of the fourth nuclear plant, maximised safety precautions will be conducted.

If any natural disasters were to leave Taiwan's nuclear reactors beyond safety standards, the facilities would be suspended or scrapped, he proposed, reasoning that Taiwan cannot afford any nuclear disasters, and "We would never opt for nuclear power generation at the expense of safety."

Adding that once the fourth nuclear power plant is inaugurated, the government will review its nuclear power reduction plan once every four years to realise the goal of turning Taiwan into a "nuclear-free homeland," Ma provided three premises based on which the gradual process would take place: no power-rationing, maintaining reasonable electricity prices, and upholding the carbon reduction promise.

Under such principles, the fourth nuclear plant would not start commercial operations before the government is certain it is safe, which would be one to two years after it begins running in 2016, as generally takes time for reactors to reach stable operation levels set by the World Association of Nuclear Operators' (WANO), according to Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang.

Once the fourth nuclear power plant begins stable operations by 2016, the first nuclear power plant, which is due to expire in 2018, may go offline ahead of schedule, Ma proposed. Also, in addition to preparing for the decommission of the existing nuclear power plants, the government will also take active steps to cut electricity demand, particularly reducing peak-time power demand.

Moreover, he added, promotion of renewable energy, development of green energy, and construction of alternative power-generation facilities, such as wind turbines and roofs that collect solar energy, will be sped up to ensure adequate power supply.

While Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen proposed that all nuclear power plants would be shut down by 2025, the Ma administration had not set a timeline for its nuclear-free goal, and according to Shih, the only definite date the government could provide regarding the process is that "The fourth nuclear power plant would begin operations by 2016."

Taking into account the disaster in Japan in March 2011, Shih pointed out that Taiwan government is currently reviewing the construction of the power plant, and would reveal a clear schedule to the public in early 2012.

Ma's promises on energy policies -- advocating commercial operations for the fourth nuclear plant, and in the meantime offering that the government would rather sacrifice the power plants than allow nuclear disasters to happen -- sound tempting, but are completely contradictory, DPP's presidential candidate proposed, Thursday.

Natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis are not preventable by human power, and the damage caused by the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe is unlikely to be cleared up within the next 30 years. Ma's government had only promised to give up on the use of nuclear energy when natural disasters strike, but by then nothing done could relief the calamity that had taken place, Tsai argued.

Kuomintang (KMT) has long been in support of the use of nuclear energy and is dependent on nuclear power plants, she said.

It is only through embracing her "2025 Nuclear-Free Homeland" policy that Taiwan could be exempted from the threat of nuclear disasters, and only through transitioning of the ruling parties could Taiwan realise its dream of becoming a nuclear-free homeland, Tsai concluded.