Truth Behind Restarting Second Reactor of NPP No. 2

 Truth Behind Restarting Second Reactor of NPP No. 2

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

February 7, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

The Cabinet instructed the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) to apply for restarting the second reactor at Nuclear Plant No. 2, eliciting waves of repercussions. Environmental groups are planning to bring charges against Premier Lai Ching-te; opposition parties point out the nuclear-free homeland policy is now bankrupt. The Tsai government, however, has said everything is being done in accordance with the law, and that the nuclear-free homeland policy remains unchanged. Nevertheless, leaving aside these happenings that have surfaced, the siren for the Tsai government’s energy policy has indeed been sounded.

The Tsai government decided to substitute nuclear power with green power, but green power’s progress is snail-paced, while the offshore wind turbines, on which the government have pinned great hopes, have just passed environmental impact assessments, with no date for laying the groundwork. Because of the unique characteristics of offshore engineering, the construction in the future is bound to face uncertainties. Even if the construction were successfully completed, variables would still exist in how wind power was to be integrated into the transmission and distribution power system. In order to avoid power shortages, the Tsai government could only strive to increase fuel-fired power generation; not only planning to add new fuel-fired power plants, existing fuel-fired power plants are generating power to full capacity in many places, resulting in a sharp increase in the volume of air pollution and emissions across Taiwan.

Since the Green camp took power, it has been firmly pushing its nuclear-free homeland policy for nearly two years; however, we are afraid, it will have to accept a cruel fact: after two years, even if the nuclear-free homeland policy is not yet bankrupt, it has been suffering wounds upon wounds, with various warnings by external experts at the same time being corroborated one by one. The successive Economics Ministers in the Tsai government have repeatedly pledged a stabile power supply and better environment; these have all become bounced checks.

The Tsai government should ponder: today we still have nuclear power generators as "relief pitchers," after all nuclear power plants have been dismantled, Taiwan being an independent power grid, where are we going to find our relief pitchers? At present, the global trend is that fighting global warming and reducing emissions take precedence over phasing out nuclear power. The Green camp has been obsessed with anti-nuclear ideology, it will very likely leave Taiwan to face "multiple calamities" at the same time, i.e., power shortages, investment reductions, and increased air pollution and emissions. After all, the public is more concerned about personal health, and not distant risks.

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