Taiwan enters 'nuclear-free homeland' era

Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Taiwan's last operational nuclear reactor was shut down Saturday as its 40-year operating license expired, turning Taiwan into the "nuclear-free homeland" that anti-nuclear campaigners had long hoped for.

The No. 2 reactor at Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County began gradually reducing its electricity output after noon and was disconnected from the grid and safely shut down by Saturday night, with its power output reaching zero by around 10 p.m.

The removal of fuel rods from the reactor core is expected to begin in the next two days, with the rods first being placed in theon-site spent fuel pool. The removal process will take an estimated one to two weeks, according to its operator, state-run Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower).

The reactor began commercial operations on May 18, 1985. Over its 40-year operating period, it generated a cumulative total of approximately 274.16 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, Taipower data showed.

Several anti-nuclear groups gathered in Taipei on Saturday to celebrate Taiwan's phaseout of its last operating nuclear reactor.

The Taiwan Environmental Protection Union (TEPU), which has played a major role in Taiwan's anti-nuclear movement, held a rally outside the Taipower Building -- the same location where the group launched its first anti-nuclear street march in Taipei in 1988.

The rally gathered members from several environmental protection organizations including the Green Citizens' Action Alliance, and Taiwan Renewable Energy Alliance as well as civic anti-nuclear groups from Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, India, and Indonesia.

At the rally, Tsui Shu-hsin (崔愫欣), secretary-general of the Green Citizens' Action Alliance, said that while the closure of the last nuclear reactor on Saturday was worthy of celebration, she worried that some pro-nuclear activists and opposition parties were looking to restart Taiwan's nuclear power plants.

Taiwan's opposition parties, which hold a majority in the Legislative Yuan, have proposed a new referendum, possibly for August, to extend the life of the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant, she said.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, however, shutting down nuclear power in Taiwan, which prior to 2015 accounted for more than 16 percent of the country's electricity mix, will come with costs.

"Taking into account energy demand growth, Taiwan may need to spend around US$2 billion more per year on liquefied natural gas purchases by 2030, according a BloombergNEF analysis," the report said.

Opposition Taiwan People's Party lawmaker Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) estimated that removing nuclear from the energy mix will raise power generation costs by NT$100 billion (US$3.31 billion) annually, the Bloomberg report cited him as saying.

Cutting emissions will also be more difficult as Taiwan is expected to rely on 84 percent fossil fuels for its electricity mix in 2025 after lagging far behind in its renewable energy rollout goals.

Still, nuclear waste remains a legacy Taiwan will have to deal with even as its reactors have been silenced.

An official with the Nuclear Safety Commission said Saturday that while the problem with outdoor dry storage facilities for spent nuclear fuel has been resolved, a final disposal site must ultimately be found.

Dealing with the site selection process and public communications could be challenges facing public authorities, the official said.