SHUTTERING:The AEC minister said there is no issue of extending the lifespan of the nation’s nuclear power plants, nor are there any plans to decommission them early
Taipei Times
Date: Jun 14, 2016
By: Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
Following the controversy surrounding the proposed reactivation of the No. 1 reactor at the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in New Taipei City’s Shihmen District (石門), Atomic Energy Council (AEC) Minister Hsieh Shou-shing (謝曉星) yesterday said the probability of reactivating the long-shuttered reactor is “virtually zero.”
The reactor has been out of action since December 2014 due to the discovery of a loose handle on a fuel rod cask, and according to a resolution passed by the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee in March last year, the reactor could not be reactivated until the council makes a formal report to the legislature.
The council has not been able to deliver a report, despite five requests, because the committee has refused to arrange a session for a reactivation report.
At a meeting of the Education and Culture Committee yesterday, Hsieh said the council would not request that the legislature arrange a session for the reactivation report, but that the council might agree to deliver a report should the Ministry of Economic Affairs or Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) request it to do so. [FULL STORY]