As a business and energy reporter, I had a front row seat of how President Tsai Ing-wen’s plan for Taiwan’s energy transition fell apart. Warning: rant incoming.
Sadly, I guessed Tsai would suck on energy as far back as 2013 based on something she said about ramping up dependence on natural gas. For an island which doesn't have a large local source of natural gas, that's a terrible idea.
In the US, Massachusetts for example, the state is giving rebates to homeowners replacing furnaces if they choose geothermal. How does geothermal energy fit or not fit into Taiwans green possibilities.
tbf Lungmen is simply cursed -- what political support there was has been frittered away with all the stops and starts spanning over four decades by now, and given that the fuel rods have already been shipped back to the US, it's basically a sunk cost. The referendum was a major political misstep imo, as they chose to emphasize one of the most unpopular parts of nuclear when a broader referendum on nuclear power might've had a chance -- as demonstrated by the one in 2018.
Unfortunately no one has the political capital currently to propose a fifth plant and actually address the nuclear waste concerns -- there are definitely locations available but there's a lot of convincing to do. Premier Chen's recent comments may indicate a certain level of change in the DPP position, though he is a technocrat, not exactly a politician. Lai isn't running on anti-nuclear anyway, so there's some room for optimism there if the DPP can spin nuclear energy as a matter of national security.
Sadly, I guessed Tsai would suck on energy as far back as 2013 based on something she said about ramping up dependence on natural gas. For an island which doesn't have a large local source of natural gas, that's a terrible idea.
Thanks for your insightful reportage! Keep it up.
In the US, Massachusetts for example, the state is giving rebates to homeowners replacing furnaces if they choose geothermal. How does geothermal energy fit or not fit into Taiwans green possibilities.
You would be arrested if you came to Australia. Re energy; logic, common sense, detail and undeniable facts are strictly verboten.
Excellent work, my friend!
Do any of the candidates seem to have a sensible plan here?
tbf Lungmen is simply cursed -- what political support there was has been frittered away with all the stops and starts spanning over four decades by now, and given that the fuel rods have already been shipped back to the US, it's basically a sunk cost. The referendum was a major political misstep imo, as they chose to emphasize one of the most unpopular parts of nuclear when a broader referendum on nuclear power might've had a chance -- as demonstrated by the one in 2018.
Unfortunately no one has the political capital currently to propose a fifth plant and actually address the nuclear waste concerns -- there are definitely locations available but there's a lot of convincing to do. Premier Chen's recent comments may indicate a certain level of change in the DPP position, though he is a technocrat, not exactly a politician. Lai isn't running on anti-nuclear anyway, so there's some room for optimism there if the DPP can spin nuclear energy as a matter of national security.
Like Covid, the energy transition is a test of state competence.
How smoothly and cost-effectively can millions of people jump off the back of the galloping carbon economy and onto a galloping renewable economy?
Faction-ridden Western governments, like M. Tsai's, are not well equipped for governance.
They can only make stuff happen by throwing tons of money at it.
The end of factions in government will be the first step towards real democracy, followed by ending private money's influence upon governance.
China has done both and it works extremely well. We should take a close look.