Taiwan will hold in August a referendum on whether the just-shuttered last nuclear reactor should be restarted once safety checks are completed, in a major reversal of the country’s policy amid energy security concerns.
Taiwan, which is being threatened by China with Beijing claiming it is a “sacred and inseparable part of China's territory”, has decided to phase out its nuclear reactors by this year.
Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party elected in January 2016, and re-elected in 2020, has a policy of phasing out nuclear power by the end of 2025.
Taiwan shut its last nuclear reactor, Maanshan, earlier this month.
Since 2018, Taiwan has shut down four other nuclear reactors and cancelled construction of two others following a referendum in 2021.
However, pro-nuclear opposition parties have submitted a motion for a referendum to restart the Maanshan nuclear reactor if thorough inspections find that it is safe to do so.
Taiwan’s Central Election Commission has approved the proposal for the referendum which will be held on August 23.
“This referendum proposal is about energy policy, and it is about whether the third nuclear power plant, which stopped operating on 17 May 2025, should be put to a referendum to decide whether to continue operating,” the commission said.
Earlier this month, Taiwan’s Parliament amended the country’s nuclear power act to allow plant operators to apply for a 20-year license renewal beyond the existing 40-year limit. This legislative amendment effectively opens the door to restarting nuclear power plants in the country.
Still, even if the referendum to reverse the phase-out is successful, safety checks will take at least three years—therefore, the Maanshan reactor will not be reactivated soon.
Taiwan is looking to bolster its energy security – and to reduce its trade surplus with the United States – by pledging to buy more U.S. oil and gas.
Earlier this year, Taiwan’s state-held oil and gas company CPC Corporation signed a letter of intent to invest in the $44-billion Alaska LNG export project in the U.S. and buy LNG from it. But as Taiwan saw firsthand, commitments and contracts to buy more U.S. energy will not necessarily spare any buyer from tariffs.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
