Despite facing hostility from the public and figures within its own government, Taiwan will continue plans to increase its nuclear power capacity over the next few years, says a new report by energy experts GlobalData.
According to the report*, Taiwan is set to boost its nuclear capacity from 5,190 Megawatts (MW) in 2011 to 7,790 MW by the end of 2015, following the introduction of the controversial Lungmen Nuclear Power Plant located in the north of the country. Units 1 and 2 are set to be operational by 2014 and 2015, respectively.
The plant’s planned construction has been met with discord from a large section of the country’s population and has already been delayed for political reasons. There have also been several public protests, the most recent of which occurred two weeks ago at the Ho-Hai-Yan Gongliao Rock Festival – only three kilometres from the provocative site.
Despite such adverse sentiment across the country, a growing demand for electricity and a need to meet greenhouse gas emissions targets has prompted the Taiwanese government to push on with the Lungmen plant construction.
Power consumption in Taiwan is expected to increase at an Annual Average Growth Rate (AAGR) of 2.3% from 2012 to 2025, and as a massive 99% of the country’s energy requirements are met by imports, an increase in nuclear power can reduced national energy expenditure.
In 2005, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) expressed its plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 170m metric tons annually by 2025, and as about 62% of Taiwan’s carbon dioxide emissions are a result of energy production, switching to more environmentally friendly methods of power generation such as nuclear power could help the country to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
The total installed capacity of Taiwan is 48,092 MW, generating around 245 billion kWh of electricity per year as of 2010.
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Nuclear Power in Taiwan, Market Outlook to 2025, 2012 Update – Capacity, Generation, Regulations, Power Plants, Companies This report offers with the nuclear power market data and analysis including energy mix, nuclear capacity and generation forecast, drivers, restraints key players, regulations, trends and developments in nuclear power industry
This report was built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis conducted by GlobalData’s team of industry experts.
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