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With TSMC accounting for most of Taiwan's power consumption, the country's lawmakers are open to changing the current rules regulating nuclear power in the country. Members of the current planning body of the Taiwanese national legislature, the Executive Yuan, showed a willingness to amend laws after the incoming economic minister set to succeed Weng Mei-hua, J.W. Kuo, remarked in the Executive Yuan that he believed nuclear energy was a clean power source.
The outgoing government has been hesitant to increase nuclear power's share in the national grid, with data from national regulator TaiPower showing that it accounts for less than seven percent of Taiwan's energy mix.
Taiwanese Government Open To Revising Rules For Island's Energy Mix In Case Of Public Support
The comments were made by the outgoing NDC minister, Kung Ming-hsin, and they came right when his government was due to hand over power to its successors elected earlier. Ming-hsin is set to take a new role at the Taiwanese legislature, and he responded to remarks made by the current opposition in reference to incoming minister Kuo's belief that nuclear energy is environmentally friendly.
Ming-hsin stated that the Taiwanese government could change the rules surrounding nuclear energy's share in the island's power mix if there is public support for such a measure. Taiwan has had to rapidly increase its power production because of TSMC, and members of the NDC also stressed that demand for A.I. semiconductors has complicated Taiwanese efforts to produce more of its electricity through sustainable means.
NDC Deputy Minister Kao Shien-quey commented that Taiwanese renewable energy continues to fall short of its production targets. This is because while lawmakers have set a 20% target for its share in the grid, data from Taipower shows that by 2023 end, 10.5% of Taiwanese electricity was produced by renewable energy and an additional 6.5% came from nuclear power.
TSMC is a key player in the Taiwanese economy, which makes it the largest power user on the island. Over the years the fab has to develop strategies and work with regulators and power providers to ensure a steady stream of electricity to its facilities. The uninterrupted power supply is essential to semiconductor fabrication because of the minute and finite nature of the circuits that are printed on silicon. Any unplanned power disruption can lead to wafers stuck inside machines and create questions about the quality of the product being produced.
A key issue in Taiwan's power sector might see lawmakers try to reach a consensus on whether existing nuclear power plants should be kept on. The ruling party has hesitated against such efforts, and views among the industry regarding nuclear safety are also varied.
For its part, TSMC has gradually increased renewable energy's share in its energy mix. Its latest energy report released in September last year, and saw the firm move its plan to use only renewable energy for its operations forward by a decade. This is a commitment made to the RE100 initiative, and last year, TSMC added that it aims to use 60% of all energy as renewable by 2030 end instead of the earlier 40%.
About the author: Ramish is a seasoned technology writer and editor with more than a decade of experience. He specializes in semiconductor fabrication and market analysis. With a background in finance and supply chain management - via his bachelors in Finance and a micromasters in supply chain management from MIT - Ramish combines financial rigor with deep industry insight to deliver accurate and authoritative coverage.
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