Shenao Air Pollution Even More Worrisome than Nuclear Risks

  Shenao Air Pollution Even More Worrisome than Nuclear Risks

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

April 21, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

With respect to the controversy over the Shenzhen coal-fired power plant, Premier Lai Ching-te stated on the 19th that in order to stabilize the power supply and develop the economy, we were coordinating with the DPP legislative caucus, asking it to fully support the reconstruction of the Shenao Power Plant and at the same time we were explaining to the outside world. The KMT legislative caucus, however, believed that the Shenao Power Plant elicited misgivings about air pollution, introducing a plebiscite proposal on "stop constructing new power plants or expanding generators of existing coal-fired power plants." The Shenao Power Plant has once again aroused controversy in society; in fact, it shows that it would be very difficult for the Tsai government to implement its energy.

Chang Ching-sen, Minister without Portfolio, in a media interview talked about the controversy over the Shenao Power Plant, speaking out this awkward situation of the Tsai government’s energy sources. In fact, many energy experts have early on talked about this awkward situation; only the Tsai government and anti-nuclear figures have all along been unwilling to face it. For a long time Taiwan has indeed been relying on “power generated in the south transmitted to the north”; the project of Nuclear Power Plant No. 4 was actually designed to balance the supply and demand of regional power usage.

Whether it is the Shenao Power Plant, or expanding generators in the north, or building new power plants in the future, it will have to be, without question, thermal power plants. The energy policy was said to increase the proportion of LNG-powered generation to 50%, and reduce coal-fired power plants to 30%, however, the reality is that if LNG receiving stations cannot be completed according to schedule and quantity, this goal will be fundamentally unreachable; this is also the reason the Tsai government allowed the Shenao Power Plant to use coal against overwhelming objections. Moreover, both LNG and coal generate power emitting pollution; the deterioration of the air quality in the north will be inevitable.

We have more than once pointed out the problems in the existing energy policies; green energy is not adequate to shoulder the basic power demand; the voices of anti-Shenao Power Plant have greatly increased, air pollution is truly hazardous to health. We recommend that the Tsai government immediately conduct a pragmatic review, adjusting its energy policies and deciding whether to reconstruct the Shenao Power Plant. Do not use the pretext of uncertain risks of nuclear power to sacrifice the people’s health.

Attachment : none