Debunking President Tsai's "King's New Clothes"：Semiconductor's Self-Built Nuclear Power is Difficult
The Storm Media Editorial, March 22, 2024
Chairman Frank Huang of the Power Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (PSMC) recently proposed that semiconductor manufacturers build their own nuclear power plants. This suggestion completely undermines the energy policy of President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration and is a slap in the face. It is not easy for industry players to expect the government to give the green light to build its own nuclear power plants.
President-elect William Lai is launching an exchange tour with the theme “Trust in the New Deal, Steady Succession.” According to Frank Huang, the issue of electricity price increase was touched upon in the meeting with Lai, and whether the government should continue to develop nuclear power was also mentioned, but Lai did not make it clear. The answer still emphasizes that the focus is on green energy. Huang said that in order to save energy and reduce carbon emissions, part of the electricity consumption still needs to rely on nuclear power. He mentioned that there has been discussion among the semiconductor industry that semiconductor companies should organize their own teams to build nuclear power plants so that the industry can be self-sufficient in electricity and not be in conflict with people’s electricity consumption.
The semiconductor industry’s discussion of “building its own nuclear power plant” is undoubtedly a negative vote against the Tsai administration’s energy policy. Since the 2015 election campaign, Tsai has repeatedly promised to completely abolish nuclear power plants as the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) energy policy, even stating that the party has made careful calculations and there will be no shortage of electricity or an increase in electricity price. Since President Tsai took office in 2016, the DPP government has had 8 years to implement the energy policy of scrapping nuclear power and promoting green energy. Even though there have been several major power outages across Taiwan, the Tsai administration has never acknowledged the power shortage problem, always using “other factors” as its excuse; even in peak power consumption seasons, when operation reserve rates dropped to 2 percent or 3 percent, the Tsai administration would rather alter the definition and the calculation methods than admit the risk of power shortage. As for the electricity price hike and the Taiwan Power Company’s (Taipower) huge losses, the Tsai administration has tried its best to emphasize that they are all caused by rising international fuel prices and has never admitted that the increase in electricity price was caused by its energy policy failure.
However, the semiconductor industry’s discussion of “building its own nuclear power plant” fully demonstrates the industry's position on the risk of power shortage and their distrust of the Tsai administration’s commitment to not running out of power. As for why industry operators would consider self-built power that is neither thermal power nor green energy, the reason is quite simple. The carbon emissions of thermal power are detrimental to international requirements for carbon reduction (or even zero carbon emissions); green energy is both unaffordable and unstable. Frankly speaking, it is impossible for the semiconductor industry to use green electricity. At most, it can only achieve the so-called comprehensive use of green energy through a method like “purchasing indulgences.”
Only nuclear power has almost zero carbon emissions and zero air pollution. It also has a stable power supply, the best power base load, and low cost. Therefore, it has become a top choice for industry players who want to build their own power plants. It is ridiculous that the nuclear power the industry wants is exactly what the Tsai administration is obsessed with and is determined to get rid of. The semiconductor industry’s idea of “building its own nuclear power” is indeed the “king's new clothes” that undermines President Tsai’s energy policy-- whether it is a promise that there will be no shortage of electricity or that electricity price will not rise, their credibility has gone bankrupt and they are now relying on lies from those people in office.
Ordinary people may be fooled or accept their fate, but if the industry finds that the situation is not right, they will eventually find a way out. “Building their own nuclear power” may still be difficult when the DPP continues to be in power. If approved, it is just a slap in the face, proving the failure and waste of the DPP’s card of comprehensively abolishing nuclear power and establishing a nuclear-free homeland. Will the DPP be willing to admit its mistake?
The DPP’s “nuclear-free homeland” policy emphasizes the dangers, risks, and pollution (such as nuclear waste) of nuclear power, so nuclear power must be completely abolished. This has nothing to do with whether nuclear power plants are public or private. If the DPP approves semiconductor companies to build their own nuclear power plants, then there will be no such thing as a “nuclear-free homeland” in Taiwan because nuclear power plants will continue to operate. If this is the case, wouldn’t it mean that the DPP and anti-nuclear activists’ hard work has proved futile?
Not activating Taipower’s Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in the first place was a waste of nearly NT$300 billion (about US$9.3 billion). Decommissioning the First, Second, and Third Plants which can be extended and reused will cost at least NT$500 to 600 billion (about US$15.6 to US$18.7 billion). The Tsai administration has wasted nearly a trillion dollars, but the result is that nuclear power remains in use and returns to square one. If the incoming Lai administration approves semiconductors to build their own nuclear power plants, it will be tantamount to “beating the corpse” of the predecessor’s energy policy, admitting the DPP’s wrong energy policy, and admitting that it burned nearly a trillion dollars of taxpayers. No one would commit this kind of political suicide.
If this proposal is feasible and the industry is really allowed to build its own nuclear power plants, there is actually no need for the industry to build another one. In fact, the Third Nuclear Power Plant that is about to be decommissioned (or even the First and Second plants) and the Fourth plant that is nearing completion could be handed over to the industry to operate. All the nuclear power generated is for their own use, which allows the government that originally needed to spend money to decommission the nuclear power plant to collect revenue. At the same time, it no longer needs to worry about power shortages and does not have to desperately increase thermal power. The industry players can quickly own their power supply at a lower cost, and the risk of power shortage can be solved. The public can reduce the need to “use their lungs to generate electricity," and nuclear power can decrease electricity price hikes.
This is an approach to create a “win-win” outcome. Unfortunately, the likelihood of it being accepted by the DPP government is low. After all, the people will continue to pay large sums for President Tsai’s energy policy failure for decades. There is not a party nor are there politicians no more unscrupulous than this.