Taiwan failed to referement in August to find out if a nuclear power plant should be restarted if it was deemed safe to work. While the more than 4 million votes for “yes” exceeded the more than 1.5 million votes “no”, the number of affirmative votes did not exceed the threshold of 25% of the eligible voters required for the referendum to be adopted. Consequently, Taiwan remains on the nuclear without nuclear path that he has followed since the closure of the nuclear power plant in question, the Maanshan nuclear power plant, in the south of Taiwan on May 17, making a 2016 government commitment made following the Fukushima catastrophe of Japan 2011.
However, high-tech industries, including semiconductor manufacturing, AI data centers and AI infrastructure operators, will continue to supply electricity demand. The question remains whether Taiwan may or may not provide a reliable and clean power to support the growth of these industries in the midst of Chinese geopolitical pressure – and without nuclear energy.
Taiwan’s energy landscape remains complex. Nuclear energy, developed since the 1970s, has seen older retirement reactors Since 2018. Taiwan imports 95% of its energy and was increasing on natural gas. But it also aims to reduce carbon emissions, improve network reliability and extend its energy storage options.
“Without energy, there is no industrial growth … And nuclear is an excellent option,” said Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, during a visit before referend in Taipei on August 22. He met key players in high -tech supply chains, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the largest flea foundry in the world producing advanced fleas for smartphones, high performance information and AI applications.
It was not the first time that Huang recommended nuclear energy. During Calpex Taipei in May, he said: “We need any single source energy: wind, solar, nuclear. Taiwan should absolutely invest in nuclear, and it should not be a stigmatization of having energy. ”
Nvidia developed in Taiwan, in partnership with Foxconn And the government to build a training center and supercalculculculculculculculculculculculculculculculculculculculculi in the south, opening a larger office in Taipei and collaborating with Taiwanese companies such as TSMC to build an IA infrastructure ecosystem.
The president of Taiwan, Lai Ching-Te, promised to honor the referendum result while focusing on various sources of energy. He said Taiwan could consider advanced nuclear options if technology improves, waste decreases and public support increases.
At the end of August, the government approved a law project, AI Basic Act, designed to create an environment favorable for the development and use of AI. The project highlights the role of government in promoting research, applications and infrastructure of AI. Meanwhile, the newly reworked office is under pressure by industry and the wider audience to maintain energy security.
In mid-September, the newly appointed Minister of Economic Affairs, Ming-Hssin Kung, stressed that Taiwan is a global hub for fleas and technology, shaping strategies for the next 10 to 20 years.
Kung stressed that companies need both stable power supply and green energy to respond to commitments to renewable energies at 100% of the Global Corporate Initiative Re110. He said the new firm will continue to focus on renewable energies while adjusting the deployment speed. The objective is to raise renewable energies to 20% of Taiwan’s power supply by the end of 2026 – a difficult critical target to maintain competitive Taiwan in global supply chains. He estimated that renewable energies will represent approximately 15% of electricity production by the end of 2025, against 11.9% in 2024.
A wind turbine and its solar energy system are visible at the Tailipower Exhibit Center in Pingtung, in the south of Taiwan on April 29, 2025.I-Hwa Cheng / AFP / Getty images
For solar energy, KUNG is committed to strengthening existing projects, resolving land use conflicts with foot parks in solar fish initiatives and replacing old solar panels with more recent panels that produce twice as much energy. The construction of offshore wind will be accelerated and a test program for floating wind turbines will resume. Taiwan will also actively develop other sources of green energy, such as geothermal energy and hydrogen.
On nuclear, Kung has reaffirmed the Taiwan nuclear path, but has left the possibility of adopting advanced technologies such as small modular reactors. The guidelines to assess the potential restarts of existing plants will be published in late October. The first step will see the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) carrying out evaluations of the three interrupted nuclear power plants, with the first results due next year. Maanshan, which began its commercial operations in 1984, is considered to be the most likely to pass security self-assessments, which will focus on the ability to maintain aging equipment and modernize the resilience of earthquakes.
In a report published on September 26, Taiwan’s energy administration projects the demand for electricity to increase 1.7% per year from 2025 to 2034. The forecasting factors for extensions to the Taiwan semiconductor industry, investments in the development of AI and expected energy savings.
To meet the demand for increasing power, the government is currently planning to stimulate the production of natural gas while removing large nuclear, coal and oil factories. Net additions of 12.2 gigawatts in gas capacity are expected by 2034.
Concerns of the semiconductor industry
But high -tech industries express their concern. In early September, in Semicon Taiwan, Charles Lee, managing director of Topco Group, a large supplier of semiconductors, said Spectrum ieee That manufacturers are concerned about the stability of the network as the growth of AI and the growth of semiconductors are accelerating. “Strongly polluting coal power plants are no longer an option, so we rely more on liquefied natural gas and less stable renewable energies. If the nuclear power plants could be restarted, I welcome it, ”explains Lee.
Meanwhile, a manufacturing director, who spoke under the guise of anonymity because he is not authorized by his business to speak to the media, said Spectrum ieee This Taiwan economy is always focused on manufacturing. “We are concerned about the low efficiency of green energy. We have also noticed a tendency abroad, the countries incorporating the construction of nuclear power plants, ”he says.
In a television debate Before the August referendum, Tzu-Hsien Tung, president of Pegatron Corporation, Support expressed to restart nuclear power plants. He warned that if Taiwan continues to rely on heavy carbon electricity, local businesses could face strong carbon taxes abroad, undergoing their global competitiveness.
AI servers samples are displayed on the Zhen Ding Tech group stand during the Semicon Taiwan exhibition in Taipei on September 10, 2025.I-Hwa Cheng / AFP / Getty images
AS Taiwanese Society Debated Whhether to Restart Nuclear Power Plants, Some Taiwanese Energy Experts, Including Tze-Luen Lin, Deputy Executive Director of the Taiwanese Government’s Office of Energy and Carbon Reduction and A Political Science Professor Taiwan University, Have Called for Fresh Approaches To Taiwan’s Energy Resilience Amid Nailse Threats, Echoing to Notions Busht by Non-Go-Governmental Organizations and Thinktanks, such as the Center for Climate and Security, based in the United States, that a clean energy transition can strengthen national security.
During the conference of the Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies in Japan on September 21, Lin stressed that renewable energies are at the heart of energy and national security. He stressed that “energy resilience can only be reinforced by decentralized renewable energies of local origin, combined with microrals and energy storage”, and warned that large centralized centralized power plants are easier targets of attack.
Commenting on the possible nuclear options of Taiwan, Jusena Asuka, professor at the University of Tohoku and president of the session at the conference, warned that the SMRs remain immature and costly, and investing massively could slow the development of renewable energies. development.
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