Taiwan: TPP proposes referendum to restart Maanshan nuclear plant

The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) has proposed a referendum to restart the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant, whose No. 2 reactor should be decommissioned on May 17. The proposal passed its second reading in the Legislature last week, causing the protest of environmental groups opposed to nuclear power. The Chairperson of the Nuclear Safety Commission, Chen Min-Jen, told reporters that the commission respects the Legislature’s decision. If the referendum is approved, Taiwan Power Company will apply to restart the plant to the commission, which will approve or reject the application according to safety and nuclear waste management standards. During a session of the Legislature’s Education and Culture Committee, one legislator asked Chen if he still agrees with an op-ed he wrote in 2022, in which he warned of electric instability and suggested delaying the dismissal of nuclear power until 2035. Chen initially avoided a direct answer but later said that a delay in the nuclear-free policy could ease power supply pressure. During the session, another legislator asked about the status of finding a permanent nuclear waste disposal site. The head of the nuclear materials control division responded that no candidate sites have been identified and that the original goal of selecting a site by 2028 is unlikely to be met.