End of nuclear in Taiwan fans energy security fears

Taiwan will flip off its final nuclear reactor on Saturday, fueling issues over the self-ruled island’s reliance on imported vitality and vulnerability to a Chinese language blockade.

The island, which targets net-zero emissions by 2050, relies upon virtually totally on imported fossil gasoline to energy its properties, factories and important semiconductor chip trade.

President Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Occasion has lengthy vowed to part out nuclear powerwhereas the primary opposition Kuomintang (KMT) social gathering says continued provide is required for energy security.

Ma’anshan Nuclear Energy Plant in southern Pingtung county is being closed as China intensifies army exercise round Taiwan, which Beijing claims as a part of its territory and has vowed to convey below its management someday.

Throughout large-scale army drills round Taiwan in April, China simulated strikes on key ports and vitality websites in addition to blockading the island.

Ma’anshan has operated for 40 years in a area in style with vacationers and which is now dotted with wind generators and solar panels.

Extra renewable energy is deliberate on the web site, the place state-owned Taipower plans to construct a solar power station able to supplying an estimated 15,000 households yearly.

However whereas nuclear solely accounted for 4.2% of Taiwan’s energy provide final 12 months, some concern Ma’anshan’s closure dangers an vitality crunch.

“Taiwan is such a small place and currently there’s no other better and more efficient natural energy source that can replace nuclear power,” stated Ricky Hsiao, 41, who runs a close-by guesthouse.

“The reality is that TSMC and other big companies need a lot of electricity. They would leave Taiwan if it’s not stable,” he informed AFP, referring to chipmaking big Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm.

However mother-of-two Carey Chen fears an accident just like the 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown in Japan, which like Taiwan is liable to earthquakes.

“If we can find other stable power sources, I support a nuclear-free homeland for everyone’s safety,” Chen, 40, informed AFP.

Steady provide

At its peak within the Eighties, nuclear energy made up greater than 50% of Taiwan’s vitality technology, with three crops working six reactors throughout the island.

Considerations after the Fukushima catastrophe noticed a brand new plant mothballed in 2014 earlier than it was even completed.

And two crops stopped working between 2018 and 2023 after their working permits expired.

Most of Taiwan’s energy is fossil fuel-based, with liquefied pure gasoline (LNG) accounting for 42.4% and coal 39.3% final 12 months.

Renewable vitality made up 11.6%, properly in need of the federal government’s goal of 20% by 2025.

Photo voltaic has confronted opposition from communities nervous about panels occupying priceless land, whereas guidelines requiring regionally made components in wind generators have slowed their deployment.

Lai insists Taiwan’s vitality provide shall be secure whilst AI know-how boosts demand, with new items in present LNG and coal-fired crops changing Ma’anshan’s output.

The KMT and Taiwan Folks’s Occasion, which management the parliament, amended a legislation on Tuesday enabling nuclear plants to increase their working life by as much as 20 years.

“Nuclear power is not the most perfect way to generate electricity,” KMT lawmaker Ko Ju-chun informed AFP.

“But it is an option that should not be eliminated when we are developing technology, defense, and strengthening national security.”

Chinese language menace

Taiwan’s reliance on imported fossil fuels is of specific concern given the danger of a Chinese language blockade.

The island has sufficient LNG and coal reserves to final simply 11 and 30 days, respectively, authorities knowledge present.

Taiwan’s centralized electricity grid additionally leaves swaths of the island liable to main energy outages in case of a single fault.

With out nuclear, “our energy security cannot be guaranteed, and national security will be affected”, stated Yeh Tsung-kuang, an vitality skilled at Taiwan’s Nationwide Tsing Hua College.

Environmental activists argue renewables are one of the simplest ways to bolster Taiwan’s vitality resilience.

“If every community has solar panels on its roofs, the community can be (more) self-sufficient”, stated Tsui Shu-hsin, secretary-general of Inexperienced Residents’ Motion Alliance.

However others notice Taiwan’s break-up with nuclear is at odds with international and regional tendencies.

Even Japan goals for nuclear to account for 20-22% of its electrical energy by 2030, up from properly below 10% now.

And nuclear energy turned South Korea’s largest supply of electrical energy in 2024, accounting for 31.7% of the nation’s complete energy technology, and reaching its highest degree in 18 years, in accordance with authorities knowledge.

Yu Shih-ching, chief of Hengchun city the place Ma’anshan is situated, stated the plant had introduced jobs and boosted the native financial system.

“Our view is that nuclear power is necessary,” he informed AFP, calling it “an important driving force for the national economy” and a “great help to local areas”.

And Lai acknowledged lately he wouldn’t rule out a return to nuclear someday.

“Whether or not we will use nuclear power in the future depends on three foundations which include nuclear safety, a solution to nuclear waste, and successful social dialogue,” he stated.

© 2025 AFP