Referendum failure on No. 3 Nuclear plant intensifies energy debate

Taipei, Aug. 23 (CNA) The failure of Saturday's referendum to restart the Third Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County, the last in Taiwan when decommissioned in May, has reignited debate over the country's energy future amid growing demand on green resources.

With 4,341,432 people, or about 73.5 percent, voting in favor, the referendum still failed to pass as it did not meet a required threshold of 5,000,523 affirmative votes, equal to 25 percent of eligible voters.

The result means Taiwan will remain without nuclear power for the time being, although the government has not ruled out its future reintroduction.

After the vote, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) told a news conference that he will not dismiss advanced nuclear power if the technology becomes safer, generates less waste and enjoys greater public acceptance.

In the run-up to the vote, many business leaders had voiced support for the referendum, including Lin Por-fong (林伯豐), chairman of the Third Wednesday Club, a prominent business association, citing concerns over security stability.

Commenting on the referendum result on Saturday, Lin urged the Lai administration to rethink energy policy in a way that supports economic growth -- ensuring stable power supply and reasonable electricity prices.

"This cannot be achieved without nuclear power," Lin told CNA, urging the government to revise its energy policies.

Lin also noted Pegatron Corp. Chairman Tung Tzu-hsien's (童子賢) opinion that nuclear energy is vital for cutting carbon emissions.

Earlier Saturday, while casting his ballot, Tung -- a strong advocate for the referendum -- told reporters that every unit of carbon-free electricity is precious, particularly with global carbon taxes on the horizon.

"Taiwan's biggest problem is not a power shortage -- that is only a potential pressure. Even more serious is the lack of carbon-free electricity," he said.

According to Taiwan Power Co. data, fossil fuel plants account for 79.7 percent of Taiwan's electricity generation, including coal (31.1 percent), oil (1.4 percent) and natural gas (47.2 percent).

Renewables, meanwhile, make up 11.9 percent.

Amid these challenges, experts have urged Taiwan to diversify its energy sources and accelerate the development of renewables.

Tsuang Ben-jei (莊秉潔), a professor of environmental engineering, pointed out that using electric vehicles to store excess solar power for later use is the most feasible way to diversify energy sources.

Tsuang also suggested developing Taiwan's underground natural gas storage, paired with fast-start gas plants and geothermal energy, as part of a strategy to diversify the island's energy sources.

Chen Shih-hau (陳詩豪), who heads a research division at the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, said that small modular reactors (SMRs), which are still under development and have not yet reached full commercial deployment, could be an option for future nuclear development.

Meanwhile, Chen noted that SMRs would pose far smaller risks than large nuclear plants in the event of an incident.

In a statement, Greenpeace called on the government to collaborate with major electricity users and industries to jointly develop green energy and storage solutions, and to consider investing more in geothermal energy.