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To: Ram Seetharaman who wrote (8851)	10/28/2000 12:38:39 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 9582

US-Taiwan Business Council: Taiwan Premier Chang Chun-hsiung Announces The Halt of Construction at the Island's Fourth Nuclear Power Plant ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- On Friday, October 27, Taiwan Premier Chang Chun-hsiung announced that the Executive Yuan (Taiwan's cabinet) has decided to halt construction of the island's fourth nuclear power plant. During his statement, Premier Chang cited six reasons for abandoning the NT$200 billion (US$6.4 billion) project: 1. "Canceling the project will not result in a shortage of electricity, as until 2007 Taiwan's surplus power capacity will be around 12.5 percent of the island's needs. The ROC has seven years to prepare alternatives. 2. The government is working on alternative sources of power. The government has said that it will step up approval of additional independent power plant projects in order to replace the capacity lost from scrapping the plant. 3. There is still no way to solve the problem of nuclear waste. 4. Any nuclear accident would be a huge dilemma for Taiwan because of the island's small size, so nuclear safety is critical for everyone living in Taiwan. 5. The cost of abandoning the project is lower than the cost of completing it. Canceling the plant will cost between NT$75.1 billion (US$2.3 billion) and NT$90.3 billion (US$2.8 billion), whereas continuing will cost at least NT$120 billion (US$3.73 billion), and that figure does not include handling nuclear waste. 6. Canceling the plant would be a step toward achieving sustainable development while making Taiwan a nuclear-free island." Council Chairman Frank Carlucci commented that, ``while the US-ROC (Taiwan) Business Council takes no position on the canceling of the 4th Nuclear Power Plant, as this is a matter for the Taiwan government, we do feel that the manner and speed in which the Taiwan government moves to compensate the companies involved is important. We encourage the government to expedite the process of remuneration and thereby, assure the business community in Taiwan and the international community abroad that they are committed to meeting contractual obligations in good faith.'' Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Boston-based Stone and Webster Engineering Corp. and General Electric Co. are all involved in the supply and construction of the two 1,350-megawatt boiling water reactors for the plant. The government has said that it will honor the agreements made with contractors, and will compensate foreign suppliers. Taiwan Power Company, the state-run company constructing the nuclear plant, estimates that it will need NT$30 billion to NT$90.3 billion (US$934 million to US$2.81 billion) to compensate the equipment suppliers. Given that Taipower's estimates have power reserve margins falling to 8.3% in 2008 if no additional sources of supply are completed by then, and with Taipower's ideal reserve margins in a 20%-25% range, the Council hopes Taiwan will move quickly to address the shortfall. Chairman Carlucci added, ``the Council will also be keeping a close eye on the government's initiatives to address shortfalls, in the coming years, in Taiwan's energy production. We hope the Taiwan government will move swiftly to: speed the deregulation and privatization of Taiwan's energy sector; guarantee the independence of the Energy Commission; and move towards Common Access/Land Reform. These policies will help ensure that US companies see an environment conducive to foreign direct investment, joint ventures and strategic alliances. Adequate and reliable power generation is critically important if Taiwan is to continue to develop as an information based economy.'' biz.yahoo.com