Taiwan, which has declared a “de-nuclear power plant,” has been found to be considering restarting nuclear power plants after 2030 due to concerns over power shortages caused by the expansion of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.
The AI industry relies heavily on the data center because it requires enormous power to operate the data center.
In an interview with Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported on the 26th of last month, Zhu Rong-tai, Taiwan’s chief executive, said in an interview with the Japanese Nihon Keizai Shimbun that the demand for electricity in the AI and semiconductor industries is expanding, adding that it may consider using nuclear power plants again after 2030.
“Although nuclear power plants cannot solve all the current power problems, we can discuss using nuclear power plants again in the future,” he said.
He added that if social consensus can be reached on nuclear power plant safety, various sectors should openly discuss whether to restart nuclear power plants.
Earlier in June, Minister of Economy Kuo Zhuhui also said, “We are concerned about electricity shortages after 2028 due to the explosive growth of the AI industry.”
In response, Taiwanese media expressed interest, saying that there is a possibility of change in the Taiwanese authorities’ policy to de-nuclearize nuclear power.
In response to Ju’s remarks, Taiwanese media pointed out that it is a scene that shows Taiwan’s situation in the contradictory dilemma of nuclear power generation and carbon emissions reduction.
In this regard, Ye Zong Guang, a special invitation professor at Tsinghua University in Taiwan, gave meaning that the Lei Ching-de government was the first to express its position on nuclear power plants.
He said there have been concerns in recent years about Taiwan’s power supply situation, adding that if the nuclear power plant continues to operate, a series of problems could be solved.
As interest surrounding his remarks intensified, Director Joo rushed to settle them.
“The Japanese media’s report is a misunderstanding,” he said, adding that all possibilities related to the nuclear power plant can be discussed, but nothing has been decided at this time.
The Executive Yuan also stressed that “de-nuclear power plant” is a legal policy and that nothing has changed so far.
Taiwan is currently pursuing a policy to reduce the proportion of coal-fired power generation and nuclear power plants and expand renewable energy.
Former President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party announced plans to close six nuclear reactors at all nuclear power plants in Taiwan by 2025 and replace them with renewable energy when he took office in 2016.
According to statistics from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economy, nuclear power plants accounted for 6.3% of Taiwan’s power generation from 12% in 2016 to 6.3% last year.
EJ SONG
US ASIA JOURNAL
