End of nuclear in Taiwan fans energy fears

Agency plans solar power plant at site

- AMBER WANG

Taiwan will turn off its last nuclear reactor on Saturday, fuelling concerns over the self-ruled island's reliance on imported energy and vulnerability to a Chinese blockade.

The island, which targets net-zero emissions by 2050, depends almost entirely on imported fossil fuel to power its homes, factories and critical semiconductor chip industry.

President Lai Ching-te's Democratic Progressive Party has long vowed to phase out nuclear power, while the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party says continued supply is needed for energy security.

Ma'anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung county is being closed as China intensifies military activity around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as part of its territory and has vowed to bring under its control one day.

During large-scale military drills around Taiwan in April, China simulated strikes on key ports and energy sites as well as blockading the island.

Ma'anshan has operated for 40 years in a region popular with tourists and which is now dotted with wind turbines and solar panels.

More renewable energy is planned at the site, where state-owned Taipower plans to build a solar power station capable of supplying an estimated 15,000 households annually. But nuclear only accounted for 4.2% of Taiwan's power supply last year, and some fear Ma'anshan's closure risks an energy crunch.