With new technology and investments, geothermal power could become a viable energy source in Taiwan – as long as regulatory hurdles are overcome. Given Taiwan’s location on the Pacific “ring of fire,” its potential for geothermal energy has long been recognized. With more than 4,000 hot spring sites on the island, there is plenty of…
As Taiwan moves toward its goal of nuclear decommissioning and increasing renewable energy use, it is threatened with an insufficient electricity supply. To fend off what some say is an imminent crisis, Taiwan must accelerate its development of solar and wind power. When President Tsai Ing-wen ran for Taiwan’s top office, one of her signature…
A new, globally certified training center in Taichung is helping Taiwan develop specialized personnel and talent for its offshore wind industry. Taiwan’s shortage of qualified talent to work in the offshore wind business is among its chief challenges in developing the sector. Unlike many nations that have developed offshore wind, Taiwan has almost no marine…
The Taipower company is currently emphasizing the increased use of clean-burning natural gas (LNG), the reduced use of coal, and the development of green-energy resources. The company’s 2019 emission-reduction report card revealed that, in that year, Taipower had already achieved its original goal of halving its 2016 air pollution emission intensity by 2030. In consequence,…
Permanent storage in deep geological repositories is the current international standard for final disposal of nuclear waste, but in practice this solution has so far proven extremely difficult to accomplish. The U.S. government has de-funded its deep geological repository at Yucca Mountain, and most nations have yet to begin development of similar facilities. Finland is…
Decommissioning will keep Taiwan’s nuclear sector busy for decades and potentially offer global opportunities. When unit 2 at the Maanshan nuclear power plant near the southern tip of Taiwan reaches the end of its license on May 17, 2025, all nuclear power generation on Taiwan will cease. At the peak, the six operating reactors had…
A dispute between Taipower and New Taipei City over interim spent-fuel storage is complicating the shuttering of nuclear power plants. After the second reactor of the Chinshan nuclear power plant reached the end of its 40-year licensing period last July, the plant became the first of Taiwan’s three nuclear power facilities to enter the stage…
Indictment Brought In Ching Fu Scandal Four executives at the Ching Fu Shipbuilding Co., including chairman Chen Ching-nan, were indicted by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor’s Office on February 12 on charges of fraud, breach of trust, and banking law violations. Prosecutors recommended a 30-year prison sentence for the chairman, commutable to a NT$1 billion (US$34…
The Jinshan reactor 2 goes offline with a transmission line collapse. The last remaining operational nuclear reactor in Northern Taiwan – Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant (NPP 1) reactor 2 – was automatically shut down after one of the main transmission line towers at the plant collapsed during torrential rains on June 3. Taiwan Power Co….
Simultaneously achieving the two goals will be a big challenge. Nuclear power, which by law is due to be phased out entirely by 2025, has dropped to less than 6% of total power generation in Taipower’s grid. With four out of six reactors offline – two because of Legislative Yuan reluctance to approve the resumption…
