Taiwan greenlights restart of No.2 nuclear plant

台灣將重新啟動核二2號機反應爐

Restart is expected to help electricity supply in April


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The government’s Atomic Energy Council (AEC) sent a letter to state utility Taiwan Power Co. Tuesday giving it the green light to restart the second reactor at the nation’s second nuclear plant.

The reactor had been under repair since the middle of 2016 after a short circuit caused by problems with lightning conductors, the Central News Agency reported.

The nuclear plant in Wanli, New Taipei City, on Taiwan’s north coast, is one of three operating in the country, with the government of President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) having set 2025 as the target for Taiwan going entirely nuclear-free.

The second reactor at the second nuclear plant can be fully operational nine days after the reception of the AEC letter, according to CNA.

Taipower originally requested the restart on February 5, but the AEC needed one month to complete its review of the application, followed by a discussion at the Legislative Yuan. Instead of going ahead with the approval immediately after that, the AEC went on another inspection tour of the plant before sending Tuesday’s letter, CNA reported.

Without the second reactor at the second plant operating, Taipower said the electricity supply in April would face a difficult situation. At present, only one reactor at the second plant and both reactors at the third nuclear plant, located in Pingtung County, are working.

The first reactor at the first nuclear plant in New Taipei City stopped operating in 2014 and will be completely taken out of service by the end of this year. The second reactor at the power station was switched off last June and should stop service altogether in June 2019.

The restart of the second reactor at the second plant is just one of several energy decisions by the government which have met with resistance from former supporters. Environmentalists are also fiercely opposed to the restart of a coal-fired station project in Shen’ao, also in New Taipei City, which they say goes against aims to cut down carbon emissions and reduce air pollution in general.