WNN Articles
(January 2010)
Taiwan imports 99% of its energy, which is vital to the rapidly industrialising economy.
Electricity demand was growing at almost 5% per year, but this is slowing to about 3.3% pa to 2013. Nuclear power has been a significant part of the electricity supply for two decades and now provides one quarter of base-load power and 17% overall, though nuclear comprises only 11% of 46 GWe installed capacity. Coal-fired plants comprise 26% of capacity and in 2008 delivered 38% of the power. LNG provides 20% of the power. Total power generated in 2008 was 238 billion kWh, nuclear being 17% of this, 40.8 billion kWh gross, 39.3 TWh net.
The three nuclear plants comprise four General Electric boiling water reactors and two Westinghouse pressurised water reactors. Construction of the first unit began in 1972. They are all operated by the utility Taipower, under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and were expected to have 40-year lifetimes. Five of the six units had undergone minor uprates by the end of 2008, resulting in net 44 MWe increase.
Operating Taiwan nuclear power reactors
In 2007 the Atomic Energy Council (AEC) said that Chinshan BWR plant had undergone a safety evaluation and was safe to run for a further 20 years following planned licence expiry in 2017. An application to the AEC for the life extension is under consideration. Taipower expects to seek 20-year licence renewals for all six reactors.In 2009 Taipower said that it planned to replace the steam generators of the two Maanshan PWR reactors by about 2020 if it could obtain life extensions from the AEC. This and other work is expected to yield uprates of some 440 MWe across the six reactors, and a submission to regulators is anticipated in mid 2010.
There are two 1350 MWe Advanced Boiling Water Reactors under construction at Lungmen, near Taipei. Initial plans to procure the units on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis failed, and contacts were awarded to GE for the nuclear reactors, Mitsubishi for the turbines and others for the rest. Construction began in 1999.
When the two reactors were one third complete a new cabinet cancelled the project but work resumed the following year later after legal appeal and a government resolution in favour. The project was thus put well behind. Completion of the first unit is now expected to be in 2010, with the second unit about a year behind. Commercial operation is expected in 2011 and 2012. Cost escalation due to the construction hiatus plus project management and engineering problems had pushed the projected cost to over US$ 2900/kW, and as of March 2009, $1.15 billion was required to finish the project, which was then 88.6% complete.
In May 2009 Taipower was examining the prospects for six more reactors, starting with a pair at an established site to be on line about 2020, though more recently it has projected one further unit beyond Lungmen 1&2 being on line by 2025.
Nuclear output on Taiwan is very cost competitive at US$ 1.9 cents/kWh in 2008 now that the six reactors have been depreciated. Average Taiwan generation cost was 7.0 c/kWh in 2008, with coal-fired generation US$ 5.8 cents/kWh, and LNG US$ 11.25 cents/kWh. During their first ten years of operation the Lungmen reactors are expected to generate at US$ 3.8 cents/kWh.
Fuel cycle & wastes
All materials and services are imported, including 850,000 SWU of enrichment.
A low-level radioactive waste storage facility is operated on Lan-Yu island by Taipower.
Policy for used fuel is direct disposal, though reprocessing is under consideration. Dry storage for Chinshan and Kuosheng will be needed. A geological repository is planned for 2032 operation.
Research & Development
There are four research reactors in operation on Taiwan, ranging up to 2.8 MW. TRR, a 40 MW heavy water reactor, was shut down in 1987 and was to be redesigned as a light water reactor. Two small research reactors are shut down and decommissioning.
Organisation
The Atomic Energy Council (AEC) consists of representatives from relevant government ministries. The Radwaste Administration is a subsidiary body and is regulator in respect to radioactive wastes. The Nuclear Regulatory Division is also part of the AEC, as is the Radiation Protection Division. The AEC is also responsible for safeguards.
The Atomic Energy Law came in to force in 1968 and various regulations have been promulgated under it.
Non-proliferation
All nuclear facilities on Taiwan are subject to a non-governmental safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and all fall under full safeguards.
Taiwan signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in 1968 and ratified it but after 1971 the People's Republic of China replaced Taiwan in the NPT and the IAEA. In terms of such treaties and organisations, and for those countries which adhere to a one-China Policy, Taiwan does not exist as an independent state. The USA recognises Taiwan as an independent state and has state to state relations with it. Taiwan has a unique status. Nuclear safeguards are applied in Taiwan under a trilateral agreement between Taiwan, the USA and the IAEA.
Thus the IAEA applies safeguards in Taiwan to all nuclear material and nuclear facilities as if it were an NPT non-nuclear-weapon state Party; it conducts regular inspections including Additional Protocol verification activities.
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