The Impact and Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Accident inTaiwan
Mu-Chang Shieh
1. Introduction
The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident was initiated primarily
by the tsunami following the Tōhoku earthquake on 11 March 2011. The
accident led to meltdowns of three units and the release of radioactive
material, caused serious concerns on nuclear safety in the global community.
The impact of this accident is worldwide. Not only in Japan, it also has
profound influences on Taiwan. This severe accident forced both Taiwan andJapan to re-evaluate their energy policies, especially on nuclear energy. On
September 14, 2012, the ruling Democratic Party of Japan made a decision
with a policy statement which would phase out nuclear energy by 2030.
However, after lengthy discussions and debates, nuclear energy is now
included in Japan’s energy mix as the base load for electricity, after the cabinet
made the decision on April 11, 2014. It is also included in Japan’s long term
energy program, and the government has decided to restart nuclear power
units since then. The goal set in July of 2015 was that nuclear power would
provide 20~22% of the energy mix to the country in 2030, and solar energy
combined with other renewable energy would provide 22~24% of electricity inJapan.
Nuclear power in Taiwan was moving in a different way compared toJapan. The government of Taiwan had decided to build more nuclear power
units and push for license renewal on operating units to reduce its dependence
on fossil fuels as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions in 2010. Protesters
against nuclear power supported by local media and non-governmentalorganizations started anti-nuclear rallies in Taiwan after the Fukushima
accident. These activities forced the government of Taiwan to change its
energy policy with a new version released in November of 2011. The newenergy policy stopped the license renewal applications for the 6 operating
power units, and it also cancelled the plan of constructing new power units inthe following years. The Lungmen plant (the fourth nuclear power plant) with 2
ABWR units will continue its construction and pre-operational tests, andTaiwan’s energy policy will be re-evaluated every 4 years.
The new energy policy issued in 2011 could not stop the anti-nuclear rallies
in Taiwan. The government was forced to make a decision searching for anational referendum to decide the future of Lungmen nuclear power plant on
February 25, 2013, but the time for the referendum was not decided. The
government made a more strict decision to “mothball” the nearly completed
Lungmen unit 1 together with stopping all construction work at unit 2 after
persistent protests and conflicts between ruling and opposition parties incongress on April 27, 2014. The future of Lungmen power plant will be decided
via referendum.
The protests against nuclear power continues, and the Democratic
Progressive Party (DPP) won the presidential election then took office on May
20, 2016. The new government made a decision to stop license renewal on theoperating nuclear power units. All nuclear power units will startdecommissioning after their operation license expires, and Taiwan will become“nuclear free” by 2025. The amendment of electricity act, which wasimplemented on January 11, 2017, set the rule for a “nuclear- free Taiwan” by2025. Becoming nuclear free by 2025 is not just a government statement, but
it is now part of the regulations in Taiwan.
2. Current status of nuclear power in Taiwan
Nuclear power in Taiwan accounts for 5,028 MWe of capacity by means of
3 active plants and 6 reactors, which makes up around 8.1% of its nationalenergy consumption, and 19% of its electricity generation as of 2015.[1][2] The
technology
chosenfor
thereactors
hasbeen General
Electric BWR technology for 2 plants and Westinghouse PWR technology forthe Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant. Construction of the Lungmen Nuclear
Power Plant using the ABWR design has encountered public opposition and ahost of delays, and in April 2014 the government decided to suspend
construction.[3]Commercial nuclear power plant in Taiwan was first started in
1978.Nuclear power in Taiwan made a great contribution to the economic
development of Taiwan during the years of 1980s.Table 1 shows the current
status of NPPs in Taiwan.
The construction of the fourth nuclear power plant at Lungmen on thenorth coast started in 1999, but it has been halted for several times becauseof the escalating public debate over safety issues.
The government originally scheduled to increase the use of nuclear power
in order to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, but the new policy was
unveiled in 2011 due to the Fukushima accident. All the operating nuclear
power plants (Chinshan, Kuosheng, and Maanshan) will not operate beyond
their planned 40-year lives, and Lungmen will not begin operations until all
safety requirements have been met. Furthermore, there will be no more new
nuclear power plants and the share of nuclear in the country’s energy mix isset to be 15% in 2020 and 5% in 2030 respectively.
In January 2017, the Amendment of the Electricity Act was passed. Article
95 of the Amendment states “all nuclear power generation facilities shallcease operation by 2025.” President Tsai’s campaign promise became law
officially. The first nuclear-free country in Asia was born.

Name of NPP

ChinshanKuosheng

No.
1
No.
2
No.
1

Table 1. Current Status of Nuclear Power Plants in Taiwan
Reactor Capacity
A/E
React Turbin Operation Plant
Type(MW)ore
SinceArea(hectares)
BWR-4 636
Ebasco GE
WH
1978.12.1 239
0BWR-4 636
Ebasco GE
WH
1979.07.1
5
BWR-6 985
Bechtel GE
WH
1981.12.2 216
7

No. ofunits
may beadded22

Maanshan

Lungmen(Gongliao)

No.
2
No.
1
No.
2
No.
1
No.
2

BWR-6985

Bechtel

GE

WH

PWR

951

WH

GE

PWR

951

WH

GE

1984.05

ABWR

1,350

Bechtel/PECL
Bechtel/PECL
S&W

1983.03.1
6
1984.07

GE

MHI

ABWR

1,350

S&W

GE

MHI

338

4480

6

3. The relationship between the 4th NPP and Japan
Although General Electric was the main contractor of the Lungmen NPP
project, the rest of the main components were supplied by different
Japanese companies. During the second half of the construction (stage ofdetail design, equipment installation, and device system tests), the project
received a lot of assistance from experts with practical experience related toABWR from different Japanese companies or institutions like TEPCO, Chubu
Electric Power, Toshiba, and JNES.
As for safety regulations, Nuclear Science & Technology Association(NuSTA) from Taiwan has signed a co-operation agreement with Japan
Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES) in 2004 to take turns in holding theannual meeting of nuclear safety every year in both countries.
Furthermore, the Japan-Taiwan Nuclear Safety Seminar, which is held
every year for both countries to exchange the technology and experience
related to nuclear safety. There were several experts coming to Taiwan fromJapan to deliver speeches on what really happened during the Fukushima
accident and the corresponding safety regulations to carry out after that.
Due to the active support by Japan, we would be able to upgrade theconstruction management, QC/QA and safety regulations of the Lungmen
NPP. It was seriously a great contribution to the completion of the NPP.
Table 2. Outline of the 4th NPP (Lungmen Project) in Taiwan
Plant Site
Gongliao, New Taipei City (40km to Taipei City)
Site Area
480 hectares (1,186 acres)
Capacity
1,350 MW, 2 units
Reactor TypeABWR (same type as No.6 and No.7 NPP ofKashiwazaki-Kariwa)
Fuel Consumption (year average) 81 tonnes
Total Budget*
NTD 169.7 billion (US $6.2 billion)
T/G
MHI
A&E
Stone&Webster
Process of Rad-waste
Hitachi
Civil Construction
GE (清水建設)
Discharge TunnelRSEA Engineering Corp (鹿島、大豐)
Cooling Water Circulating Pump
Ebara (荏原)Security

Japan Nuclear Security System (日本原子力防護システム)
Current Status
Unit #1: Sealed
Unit #2: Construction halted*reimposed budget NTD 52.3 billion, total budget 283.8 billion.
4. The Impact of 311 Fukushima Disaster
It is extremely hard for Taiwanese people to believe a serious disaster would
happen in Japan, a country that is very proud of its own advanced technologies.
The impact of Fukushima disaster is tremendous.
(1)

Anti-nuclear movements have become more and more intense:
Green Citizens' Action Alliance has been in close contact with No Nukes
Asia Forum(NNAF), an anti-nuclear organization in Japan. NNAF has held
several anti-nuclear gatherings in Taiwan. NNAF has visited Taiwan more
frequently after the Fukushima accident, which accelerated Taiwan's antinuclear movement. Then, the Japanese anti-nuclear politicians (ex. former
prime minister and senators), scholars, experts also visited Taiwan for theappeal of "zero nuclear society. "On March 9, 2013, several unprecedented
anti-nuke demonstrations took place throughout Taiwan to echo the second
anniversary of the Fukushima disaster.
Harms are caused by groundless rumors and plausible information. False
information about the accident was over-exaggerated by the media which also
caused the public misunderstanding. For example, a scholar from a Japanese
university came to Orchid Island, where Taiwanese radioactive waste is stored,
to measure the radiation, in the name of investigating environmental radiation.
The scholar found out radiation hotspots up to 60 and 103μSv/h near anelementary school and then held a press conference to announce this finding.
The pro anti-nuclear mass media did not verify the finding before reporting it,
and this finding became a serious issue in the Legislative Yuan (the parliament)in Taiwan. Taiwanese and Japanese experts started investigations immediately
and found out that the instrument that the Japanese scholar brought, theSamRAE940, was interfered with by an 99.4998MHz electromagnetic wave
emitted by a wireless relay station on the island. Although the results have been
published on the Issue 53 of the report of The Thinking on Nuclear Coverage (原子力報道を考える会) in Japan, several associations and magazines still report
some similar content like this, leading to misunderstanding. Although the mass
media's attitude in relation to this issue is problematic, we still have to ask what
the purpose of this academic researcher is.
(2) Significant changes in energy policies:
In response to the sharp rise in crude oil prices and countermeasures for
global warming, Taiwan Power Company was planning to build another nuclear
power plant and extend the life of the existing nuclear power plants in 2010.
However, energy policies have changed significantly after the Fukushimadisaster. Former President Ma announced several new energy policies,including: (1) the operation of Nuclear Power Plants 1, 2, and 3 (6 units in total)

will not be extended; (2) the fourth one will maintain a stable operation forcommercial purpose after completion; (3) no new nuclear power plant will bebuilt; (4) renewable energy ratio of the country’s energy mix will account for
30% by 2030; (5) nuclear will then reduce to 15% by 2020 and 5% by 2030; and(6) These policies will be reviewed every four years.
However, the ruling party (KMT) and opposition parties (DPP mostly) in theLegislative Yuan still held different opinions about the operation or abolishmentof nuclear power and the debate did not stop. In March 2014, Mr. Lin Yi-hsiung,the former chairman of the opposition party and a moralist, began an 8-day
hunger strike to demand that the government to halt the construction of the 4thnuclear power plant. On the other hand, several anti-nuclear protests were also
expanding very quickly. Former President Ma declared the following guidelines
for the 4th nuclear power plant on April 27: Unit 1 will be sealed after thecompletion of safety inspections. Construction of unit 2 will be fully suspended.
A final decision will depend on the result of the national referendum.
The current energy policy has aimed the country will reach nuclear-free in2025. The share of renewable energy, natural gas, and coal is set to be 20%,50%, and 30% respectively. Renewable energy in 2025 will be mainly composedof solar and wind (Table 3).
Table 3. Renewable Energy Targets in Taiwan (Unit: MW)
2015
2016
2020
Solar842
1,3428,776
Onshore Wind 647
747
1,200
Offshore Wind 08520
Geothermal
01150
Biomass
741
742
768
Water
2,089
2,089
2,100
Total
Source: Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C

2025
20,000
1,200
3,000
200
813
2,150
27,363 MW

5. Issues we are facing now
Regardless of whether Taiwan should insist on the path of “nuclear-free”, nuclear
waste is the biggest issue today and it is inescapable. At present, the final disposalsite of low radioactive waste has not yet been decided, and the waste on the Orchid
Island still cannot be moved out. The local Yami people are strongly opposed to thewaste disposal. Other final disposal candidate sites, such as Daren Township inTaitung County, and Penghu, they have also launched campaigns against the disposal
for years. The government has been standing at a disadvantageous position since thebeginning.
Although medium-range interim dry storage facilities have been built for NPP 1 forthe storage of used nuclear waste fuel (Taiwan adopts “once-through” method, andthus the waste is considered as high radioactive), it is not yet permitted by the local
government, leaving Taiwan Power Company at a difficult and also awkward
situation. Most of the spent nuclear fuel pools in the plants are almost full. It will bedangerous to continue operating under this condition. In addition, the disposal of
NPP 1, 2, and 3 after decommissioning is also imminent. The operation of unit 1 of

NPP 1 will be terminated in 2018, and a decommissioning plan had already been
proposed in 2015. NPP 2 and 3 will also be decommissioned one after another.
Decommission of nuclear power plants in Taiwan has been highly supported byCentral Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) and the Association for
Nuclear Decommissioning Study (ANDES) for years.

6. Conclusions
The danger of nuclear power plants to Taiwan is actually from Fujian Province,
China, which is located at the other side of Taiwan Strait. Fuqing and Ningde nuclear
power plant, Fujian Province, has 6 units under construction in each plant.
Construction of commercial high-temperature reactors (HTRs) and fast breeder
reactors (FBRs) is being planned in Zhangzhou and Sanming. In the event of anaccident, both Taiwan and Japan will suffer the disaster.
Japan's restart of nuclear power plants also has a significant influence on Taiwan.
The confusion and nuisance of the two countries' energy policies is caused bypopulism. Honestly, the nuclear energy dispute in Taiwan is beyond the scope ofenergy discussions, especially its connection with the political ideology, which madeit become more complex.
Whether to support nuclear energy is a matter of choice, and there is no right orwrong answer. However, the problem has been raised to the level of good and evil,
justice and morality, which obscured the true matter. It is meaningless but makes
nuclear power a tool for political struggle. I think, to solve this problem, it requires
the elevated national literacy and knowledge of energy, as well as wisdom. I hopeeveryone can make his/her own best choice and judgment and I look forward to thepolitical parties' self-awareness.
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