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US official lauds
nuclear power future
SAFE AS HOUSES: Asked to comment on the safety
of nuclear power in Taiwan, Andrew Reynolds said he believed Taiwan had the
ability to ensure nuclear plant safety
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporter
An anti-nuclear group and singer
Lee Mi, center, perform a skit titled “Rather Be Nude Than Nuclear” in front of
the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
A visiting US official yesterday said the
recent radioactive leak at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan
did not change his optimism about the role of nuclear power in the global energy
mix.
Andrew Reynolds, deputy and chief of staff at the Office of the Science and
Technology Adviser to US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, described
nuclear power as a “remarkable industry” because “when you think about the
safety record, it’s second to none.”
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Global Science Leaders Forum hosted
by the National Science Council (NSC), Reynolds said nuclear energy would likely
remain in the mix “well into the future,” as it had provided enormous amounts of
electricity in several countries.
The Fukushima catastrophe in Japan has re-ignited debate on the use of nuclear
power, once considered a clean energy in terms of carbon dioxide emissions.
Despite this, Reynolds said nuclear energy was essential for a low-carbon
society.
“The answer is obvious. [Nuclear energy] has already contributed a huge amount
of electricity that is relatively carbon-free, and that’s the point. Nuclear
energy is a long-standing option that has been explored by many countries for 50
years. It is part of our life,” he said.
Koichi Kitazawa, president of Japan Science and Technology Agency, offered a
different view on the use of nuclear energy during his presentation at the
forum. An independent public body under Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture,
Sports, Science and Technology, the agency plays a key role in implementing
science and technology policies, and is currently reviewing the country’s
nuclear policy, with a reported expected in about two months.
“To abandon nuclear power immediately” and to implement a “denuclearization
plan” should be included as options as Japan considers changing the direction of
its energy policy, Kitazawa said.
Asked to comment on the safety of nuclear power in Taiwan, Reynolds said he was
confident of Taiwan’s ability to review its nuclear power plants.
The six nuclear reactors in operation at Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in Shihmen
(石門), New Taipei City (新北市), Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in Wanli (萬里), New
Taipei City, and Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Ma-anshan (馬鞍山), Pingtung
County, are among the 400 in the world considered “at danger,” as they are all
located in high-risk earthquake areas and within a mile of the coast, a report
in the Wall Street Journal said late last month.
“I think these reactors and plants would not have been built without ultimate
safety in mind. They are built very well ... You have been running your reactors
and plant for many years and very successfully,” Reynolds said.
Before leaving on Friday, Reynolds is scheduled to visit one of the nuclear
power plants.
Officials with Taiwan Power Co, the operator of the plants, the Atomic Energy
Council (AEC), the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the NSC, will accompany
Reynolds and officials from the American Institute in Taiwan on a visit to
Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant on Friday, said David Yao (饒大衛), director of the
AEC’s Department of Planning.
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