Having been in preservation for three years, Taiwan's fourth nuclear power plant has been scrapped, following shipment of first batch of 80 fuel rods back to the supplier on June 4, which ends the decades-long dispute over the project.
Local media reported that the second batch of 120 fuel rods will be shipped back in September, followed by shipments of the remainder within three years by 2020. The schedule and routes for the shipments will be kept confidential, according Hsu Chao-hua, spokesman of state-run Taiwan Power Company, citing regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The fuel rods, totaling 1,744 and being deposited in the premises of the plant, will be handled in three stages: transport, dismantling, and reuse, with the supplier LCC taking care of transport and dismantling befor depositing them at a third site waiting for resale to proper buyers. Hsu Chao-hua pointed out that if proper buyers cannot be found, the fuel rods will be dismantled further for recovery of uranium for sale on the market.
Hsu Chao-hua noted that the transport and dismantling cost will reach NT$690 million, much lower than the hefty keeping cost which tops NT$140 million a year.
Taipower reiterated the goal for realizing the nuclear-free homeland vision by 2020, which calls for successive decommissioning of the existing three nuclear power plants in operation. The premises of the fourth nuclear power plant will be transformed into a general power park.
Despite the suspicion over the possibility of power shortage resulting from the removal of nuclear power, Taiwan appears to bid farewell to the fourth nuclear power plant project, which has been shrouded in controversy for 38 years.
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Time
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Incidents
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1980
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First proposal of the fourth nuclear power plant project
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1986
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Late President Chiang Ching-kuo suspended the project, in the wake of the Chernobyl incident
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1992
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Former President Lee Teng-hui issued green light for the construction of the project
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1999
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The project broke ground
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2000
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The Executive Yuan suspended the construction of the project, following regime change
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2001
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Under the pressure of the interpretation of the Constitution and the need of huge compensation, the Executive announced resumption of the construction works, scheduling the commercial run of the project in July 2006.
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2005
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The Atomic Energy Council extended the construction permit for the plant to the end of Dec. 2010.
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2011
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The Executive announced extension of the commercial run of the project to 2015, following the nuclear power plant incident in Japan.
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2013
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The Executive Yuan suspended construction of the project, whose resumption will need approval by referendum.
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2015
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The plant entered three-year preservation period.
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2018
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Shipment for return of the first batch of fuel rods in July, spelling the end of the project.
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(Written by Daisy Chuang)
