Taiwan shuts down last nuclear reactor
The No. 2 reactor at the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant in southern Taiwan, with a capacity of 951 megawatts, was set to be completely shut down by midnight local time, after its 40-year operating license expired, according to the state-owned energy supplier, Taiwan Power Company (Taipower). This move fulfils a key promise of the government's 2016 energy plan. The decision was largely influenced by the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan.
'This sends a strong message not only to other Asian nations like Japan and Korea but also to the rest of the world that nuclear power is unnecessary,' Jusen Asuka, a professor at Japan's Tohoku University, told DPA. The decommissioning of Taiwan's older nuclear power plants began in 2018 and 2021, followed by the shutdown of Maanshan's first reactor in July 2024. At its peak in the mid-1980s nuclear power provided more than 50% of electricity, but in 2024 its share dropped to about 3%. (DPA)
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