TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Economics Minister Kuo Jyh-huei (郭智輝) said the government would not rule out any energy technologies when asked about US offers to help Taiwan with nuclear energy on Tuesday.
AIT Director Raymond Greene said on Friday the US “can offer Taiwan the full range of energy solutions, from geothermal to nuclear to advanced grid technologies.” Greene spoke at AmCham’s annual Hsieh Nian Fan and lauded the potential for liquefied natural gas cooperation.
Asked about the nuclear energy offer outside the legislature on Tuesday, Kuo said the government welcomes discussions on all new energy technologies, per CNA. Kuo said the government will consider the energy technologies described by AIT.
Kuo also said a letter of intent signed last week committing Taiwan to buying Alaskan liquefied natural gas is a good start for increased energy cooperation with the US. The economics ministry said the letter will start procurement and investment negotiations with Alaskan LNG suppliers.
Kuo declined to speculate on how long Taiwan’s energy, water, and food supplies would last if China blockaded it. He said this was a confidential matter.
According to economics ministry information updated in July, 96.7% of Taiwan’s energy is imported. Just under 4% of its energy comes from nuclear power, 20% from natural gas, 30% from coal, and 44% from oil and petroleum.
Environmental law requires the government to move toward a “non-nuclear homeland,” and Taiwan’s last operational nuclear reactor will be decommissioned in May. However, a 2025 deadline for removing nuclear energy was canceled in 2018 after a referendum, and the government has expressed openness to more nuclear energy.
While on the campaign trail in 2023, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Taiwan should consider more nuclear energy if safety and waste disposal issues could be solved. In August, he said Taiwan’s “complex” energy issue is not about being for or against nuclear power.
In March, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Taiwan is open to new international nuclear power collaborations under certain conditions. Cho spoke after Greene made separate comments on opportunities for US-Taiwan nuclear energy collaboration.
According to a Commonwealth Magazine survey published in October, 70% of people support continuing nuclear power use, and the same number support more renewable energy.
