TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Any decision to extend the life of Taiwan’s three nuclear power plants should be based on safety and on a public consensus, Economics Minister-designate J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said Thursday (April 18).
With the government’s planned nuclear phase-out scheduled for 2025, conflicting views about the fate of the power plants have emerged. The Kuomintang (KMT) reportedly wants the Legislative Yuan to remove legal limits on applications for extending nuclear reactor life, while environmentalists plan an April 27 protest.
Kuo told reporters Thursday he had visited businesses and experts to hear their remarks about water and power needs. He said he would compile a report about the issue after taking office on May 20, per CNA.
At present, there was no way of saying whether the nuclear plants needed to operate beyond 2025, according to Kuo, who chaired the Topco Group, a supplier to the semiconductor industry. If such a decision was made, it would have to be based on a national consensus and about safety, he said.
Under current plans, the No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants in New Taipei City have entered their decommissioning phase, while the No. 3 plant in Pingtung County will have one reactor stop working in July and the other in May 2025.