The 2012 budget for Taiwan’s fourth nuclear power plant was passed by the Legislature June 13 amid protests from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party and environmental groups.
The NT$14 billion (US$4.85 million) bill for the facility’s No. 1 and 2 reactors went through 20 rounds of voting before being approved by lawmakers.
The Legislature also passed a proposal by the ruling Kuomintang that requires Taiwan Power Co., the state-owned company tasked with running the country’s nuclear stations, to improve disaster management capabilities and conduct a full-scale safety inspection of the new facility.
Opponents of the bill raised concerns over the plant’s ability to withstand large-scale natural disasters in the wake of March’s nuclear crisis at Fukushima, northeastern Japan.
The DPP floated 10 related proposals, including scrapping the budget, halting construction, holding a referendum on nuclear power and cutting remaining periods of service for existing plants. They were all voted down by the KMT-controlled Legislature.
According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, construction at the No. 4 nuclear plant is now 93 percent complete, with expenditures exceeding NT$250 billion.
When finished, the facility will be able to generate 20 billion kilowatt hours of electricity per year, reducing Taiwan’s carbon emissions by 16.2 million metric tons.
