{"id":380522,"date":"2025-05-28T18:08:43","date_gmt":"2025-05-28T16:08:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=380522"},"modified":"2025-05-28T18:08:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-28T16:08:44","slug":"new-world-energy-order-taiwan-closes-the-last-nuclear-power-plant-then-days-later-plans-a-referendum-to-reopen-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=380522","title":{"rendered":"New world Energy order: Taiwan closes the last nuclear power plant, then days later, plans a referendum to reopen it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
ChatGPT Taipei- Taiwan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From JoNova<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jo Nova<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant, Taiwan.\u00a0Photo by Jnlin<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The energy situation is flipping on a dime around the world<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Political entities are waking up to the need for reliable mass power. Consider the whiplash in Taiwan. They closed the last of six nuclear reactors on May 17th, marking the end of a nuclear era<\/a> that started in 1970. But, hey ho, two weeks later, they\u2019ve decided to hold a referendum on whether to restart the same plant. The vote is set for August 23.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taiwan Plans Referendum on Nuclear Energy Reversal<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

By Tsvetana Paraskov, OilPrice<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s policy amid energy security concerns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2018, Taiwan has shut down four other nuclear reactors and cancelled construction of two others following a referendum in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this month, Taiwan\u2019s Parliament amended<\/a> the country\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reasons given for reopening the plant are both the escalation in energy needs for Taiwan\u2019s silicon chip industry (is that code for \u201cAI\u201d?), and heightened fears of a military blockade from China. Because the plant needs to be comprehensively checked for safety, apparently it may be three years before it is operational again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A country torn between Net Zero goals, and aggression from China<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Apparently the Taiwanese government was full bore on the sacred green goals in 2016 (and wouldn\u2019t that suit Beijing?) but lately things have got too hot and people are starting to add up the  security risks of being on an island where 97% of the energy is imported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the new uncertain world, suddenly coal is better than gas (it\u2019s easier to store) and old nuclear plants are an asset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taiwan worsens its vulnerability to a Chinese energy blockade<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jane Rickards, The Strategist, ASPI<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lai\u2019s government is understandably concerned about energy security, as at least 97 percent of the island\u2019s energy is imported. But it also wants to reduce carbon emissions, having established a goal of net-zero by 2050. The Taiwanese government views LNG as a cleaner type of energy and is phasing out the widespread use of coal. Natural gas powered 32 percent of Taiwan\u2019s electricity in 2016. The figure rose to 42 percent last year, and Lai is pushing for it to reach 50 percent by 2030. The drive for LNG grew following Donald Trump\u2019s election as US President. Taiwan plans buy more US LNG over the next decade to help reduce its trade surplus with the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, LNG is difficult to store long term, which would create problems in the event of a quarantine or blockade. Taiwan is densely populated and has limited space for the fuel\u2019s expensive storage infrastructure. Lu Tsaiying, an energy expert with Taiwan\u2019s Research Institute for Democracy Society and Emerging Technology, notes that Taiwan holds enough LNG for 12 days\u2019 ordinary consumption. In contrast, the coal stock is enough for 42 days and the crude oil stock for 146 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lu predicts that coal, which currently powers 39 percent of Taiwan\u2019s electricity, and renewables, powering 12 percent, would be the main sources of energy during a blockade, quarantine or even a war.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the world we thought we lived in, trading partners didn\u2019t do naked industrial sabotage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In an extraordinary move Chinese Communist Party appears to be actively cutting and damaging submarine cables<\/a> around Taiwan \u2014 with accidents involving Chinese controlled ships that change names frequently and are registered in foreign countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a grey war, there is always plausible deniability, but Taiwan have arrested at least one captain and charged him accordingly<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Countering China\u2019s Subsea Cable Sabotage<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

by Gahon Chia-Hung Chiang<\/a>, staff of Legislator Kuan-Ting Chen, Taiwan<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

China\u2019s illegal, coercive, aggressive, and deceptive (ICAD) activities pose a mounting threat to global democracies, with subsea cable sabotage<\/a> emerging as a particularly alarming tactic. These fiber-optic cables, which carry over 99 percent<\/a> of global internet traffic, form the backbone of modern communication networks\u2014underpinning economic transactions, defense coordination, and digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In early 2025, the Xingshun 39<\/em> (\u8208\u980639), a Tanzania-flagged vessel controlled by a Chinese entity, deliberately severed subsea cables near Keelung, disrupting Taiwan\u2019s external communications\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just weeks later, in late February 2025 another incident occurred when the Hongtai 58<\/em> (\u5b8f\u6cf058)\u2014a Togolese-registered cargo vessel suspected of having a Chinese crew\u2014severed Taiwan\u2019s third subsea cable linking Taiwan and Penghu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These were not isolated incidents, but rather part of a troubling persistent pattern. According to Chunghwa Telecom, in 2023 cables connecting Taiwan and the Matsu Islands\u2014Taiwan\u2019s off-shore islands near China\u2014were severed 12 times, resulting in repair costs of NTD $96.4 million (USD $2.9 million). [1] While China has consistently denied involvement, the pattern of repeated cable disruptions<\/a>, which align with its strategy of leveraging civilian assets for military purposes, suggests a concerted effort to degrade Taiwan\u2019s ability to maintain stable digital infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The brazen hostility would be enough to make even a crazy nation think about national security instead of fixing the weather 100 years from now.  Given that a Chinese ship recently circumnavigated Australia following our submarine cable network<\/a>, maybe we should be too?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Political entities are waking up to the need for reliable mass power.\u00a0Consider the whiplash in Taiwan. They closed the last of six nuclear reactors on May 17th, marking the\u00a0end of a nuclear era\u00a0that started in 1970. But, hey ho, two weeks later, they\u2019ve decided to hold a referendum on whether to restart the same plant. The vote is set for August 23.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":380526,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818341,691818862,691821808,691835419,691818154,691818054,691820808],"class_list":["post-380522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-china","tag-chinese-communist-party","tag-energy-security","tag-energy-situation","tag-net-zero","tag-nuclear-power-plant","tag-taiwan","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/0ChatGPT-Image-28.-Mai-2025-18_06_38.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1AZs","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":237310,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=237310","url_meta":{"origin":380522,"position":0},"title":"Italy may \u201cBuild Back Nuclear\u201d \u2014 not quite the Great Reset the Greens or Financial Houses had in mind?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/02\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The government of Italy is planning to build new nuclear power plants. 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