The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had pledged to end atomic energy by 2025, when the last of the currently operating plants was due to be decommissioned. The nuclear issue has been a thorn in government policy for years. The results could extend the island’s reliance on imported coal and make it harder to meet rising demand from factories. 18 referendum will ask citizens four questions - two related to power: whether to activate a fourth nuclear plant that was mothballed in 2015, and where to build a new natural gas terminal. Delta Electronics Inc., United Microelectronics Corp. TSMC became the first in its industry to sign up to the RE100 renewable energy initiative last year, pledging to use 100% renewable energy by 2050. Power usage at TSMC, which is planning a new 2-nanometer wafer foundry near its headquarters in Hsinchu, could double within three years, according to a report by Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Charles Shum. About 82% of its electricity came from thermal power stations, with most of the remainder generated by two aging nuclear plants. Last year, the island imported almost 98% of its energy. For the electronics plants that drive the economy, they were a stark reminder of the need to find new sources of green energy soon to be able to expand production.Įven Taiwan’s aim to increase the share of green energy to 20% by 2025 has a long way to go. While the outages were at least partly caused by human error, they highlighted the government’s challenge in trying to decarbonize its grid, reduce dependence on imported energy and solve a long-running debate over nuclear power.
Two blackouts earlier this year raised concern about Taiwan’s ability to meet power demand that is rising by 2.5% a year.