Taiwan has ruled out restarting its oldest nuclear power plant but said two other facilities show potential for reactivation, marking a significant administrative step toward a possible return to nuclear energy after the island shut its last operating reactor in May.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on Friday it had approved Taipower’s condition assessment for the three decommissioned plants, concluding that Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 is too deteriorated to operate again, while Plants No. 2 and No. 3 will undergo in-depth safety inspections before any restart plan is submitted.
The decision signals a shift in Taiwan’s long-standing “nuclear-free” policy and comes as the government faces rising power demand, concerns over energy security, and pressure to stabilise its transition away from coal.
Nuclear power once supplied around 15 per cent of Taiwan’s electricity, but its share had steadily declined as reactors were phased out under the 2016 ‘nuclear-free homeland’ policy, resulting in the shutdown of the last reactor in May this year.
The MOEA said Taipower will now begin “autonomous safety checks” to evaluate whether the two remaining plants can extend their operating life and identify required upgrades. Formal restart proposals are expected to be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Commission by March 2026.
Plant No. 1, whose two units have been offline for 11 and 8 years, was deemed structurally unsuitable for restart due to severe equipment degradation and the removal of key generation components.
The plant uses the same model of reactor involved in Japan’s 2011 Fukushima disaster, and all similar units in Japan have since been decommissioned.
Plant No. 2, shut for more than two years, still maintains its safety and auxiliary systems but must complete major overhauls of its generation equipment and clear spent fuel from the reactor core once delayed dry-storage facilities come online.
Plant No. 3, whose reactor has already been emptied of fuel, continues to undergo routine maintenance and will require peer review and support from the original manufacturer because some equipment remains under patent.
The MOEA said the assessments covered seven areas: equipment condition, staffing, spent-fuel storage, the status of similar reactors abroad, seismic resilience, regulatory preparedness, and expected grid benefits.
Anti-nuclear groups criticised the government’s move. The National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform said restarting the plants could take at least five to 10 years and warned of seismic risks, ageing equipment and unresolved high-level waste storage issues. The group also accused the government of “slicing” the review process into stages that may understate long-term safety concerns.
“The National Nuclear Abolition Action Platform opposes the restart of both plants, citing seismic risks, ageing reactors and unresolved waste management,” the group said on its official Facebook page on Friday. “It is calling on the Executive Yuan [the executive branch of the government] to clearly explain the concrete standards underpinning the government’s three principles.”
The MOEA said all restart proposals will require international peer review, including technical assessments by overseas agencies and original equipment manufacturers, followed by full regulatory approval from the Nuclear Safety Commission before any decision is made.
Officials added that meeting these conditions is a multi-year process and that approval is not guaranteed, even if feasibility assessments are positive.
President Lai Ching-te’s administration has repeatedly stressed that nuclear power can only be reconsidered if Taiwan can demonstrate compliance with international safety standards and resolve long-standing disputes over high-level waste storage, which has also stalled for decades due to local opposition.
