Taiwan shuts down its last nuclear reactor, bets on gas and renewables

The shutdown of Maanshan power plant’s Unit 2 marked the end of operations at Taiwan’s last nuclear reactor. The country thus symbolically completed its planned phase-out of nuclear energy.

The second unit of the Maanshan nuclear power plant was taken offline as planned on Saturday, May 17, and disconnected from the grid at around 10 p.m. local time. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the reactor was placed in a safe shutdown state approximately two hours later.

The pressurized water reactor (PWR), with an electrical capacity of 938 MWe, began operating in 1985. Construction started in February 1979, the reactor first achieved minimum controllable power on February 1, 1985, and it was connected to the grid later that month. Commercial operation began three months later.

Decommissioning process

State-owned utility Taipower applied to the nuclear regulator (Atomic Energy Council) in July 2021 for the long-term shutdown of both Maanshan units. Under the law, operators must apply to decommission reactors at least three years before their operations end.

Maanshan Unit 1, with a capacity of 936 MWe, was shut down on July 27, 2023, after its operating license expired.

Taiwan’s nuclear phase-out

The “nuclear-free Taiwan by 2025” policy was introduced after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power in January 2016. The government subsequently approved an amendment to the Electricity Act that mandated the gradual decommissioning of all six nuclear units. The goal is to create an energy mix comprising renewables (20%), natural gas-fired power plants using liquefied natural gas (50%), and coal-fired power plants (30%).

In a referendum in November 2018, however, voters decided to repeal the amendment. The Ministry of Economic Affairs subsequently announced that the change was formally removed from the Electricity Act on December 2 that year.

Despite the referendum result, then Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin said in January 2019 that “there will be no extensions of operation or restarts of nuclear power plants in Taiwan, due to subjective and objective circumstances and strong public opposition.”

History of nuclear plant closures

The oldest nuclear power plant, Chinshan, shut down its first unit in December 2018, followed by the second unit in July 2019. The operating license for Unit 1 at Kuosheng was due to expire in December 2021, but the unit was shut down in June because of a shortage of spent fuel pool capacity. The second unit at Kuosheng ceased operations in March 2023.

The new Lungmen power plant project began in 1999 but was never completed due to political and regulatory problems. Unit 1 was mothballed in July 2015, while construction of Unit 2 had already been halted in April 2014.

The future of a nuclear-free energy sector

Maanshan Unit 2 was Taiwan’s last operating nuclear reactor and supplied approximately 3% of the country’s electricity consumption.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs said several new gas-fired power plants, including Datan, Hsingda, and Taichung, will come online this year, with a combined installed capacity of nearly 5 GWe. Together with approximately 3.5 GWe of capacity from wind and solar photovoltaic sources, they are expected to ensure a stable electricity supply for the population.