If the reactor passes inspection and the request is approved, a vote on reactivation will go to the Nat. Legislature
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On Monday, Feb. 5, the Taipower Company submitted an application to Taiwan’s Atomic Energy Council (AEC) for authorization to restart a nuclear reactor at the No. 2 nuclear plant in Wanli, New Taipei.
Taipower has asserted that in light of Taiwan’s new energy policies, and increased energy usage during the Winter months, that there may be a looming power shortage facing the country.
In response however, various environmental groups and some legislators have raised their voices in objection that Taipower would even consider such an action.
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A separate report from CNA notes that an array of criticisms have been raised in response to the motion from Taipower. Some critics claim that after 600 days of being offline, that restarting the reactor could prove costly, and may cause mass power outages.
Other critics claim that Taiwan still possesses an abundant surplus of energy, and that the claims of a looming power shortage from Taipower are entirely unfounded.
Regardless of the exact details of Taiwan’s energy production and energy reserves, restarting the nuclear reactor would come at an extremely high political cost to the DPP, because of the current drive for the country to “Go Green” and the pledge that Taiwan would be nuclear free by 2025.
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The application from Taipower, if approved, would only call for operation of the reactor through 2023, the year in which the No. 2 nuclear plant is already scheduled to be completely retired from operation.
The government has also recently come under criticism for the deteriorating air quality that continues to afflict most of the country’s population centers. The problem is partially the result of an increased reliance on burning fossil fuels to mitigate the energy deficit incurred by shutting down the island’s nuclear reactors.
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All of Taiwan’s reactors are scheduled for retirement in the coming years, with the No.1 reactor to be permanently shut down in 2019, No.2 in 2023, and the final reactor at the No.3 power plant scheduled for retirement in May 2025.
Read more at Taiwan Power Co. seeks to reactivate nuclear reactor in New Taipei
