Taiwan Power Company submits the review of the three renewable energy operation plans, "it will take at least 2 years," how much electricity can nuclear power plants provide when fully operational in Taiwan?

Taiwan Power Company officially submitted the plan to restart Nuclear Power Plant No. 3 for review by the Nuclear Safety Committee this week. However, even if approved, it will still take 18 to 24 months to complete the self-safety inspections, with the earliest possible reconnection to the grid not expected until the end of 2027.
(Background: Lai Ching-te decided: Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 and No. 3 “meet the conditions for restart,” Taiwan’s power gap cannot hold up in the AI era.)
(Background supplement: Taiwan electricity prices frozen! The Chamber of Commerce reveals the review results in advance, government subsidies for nuclear power restart “are under discussion.”)

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• The earliest power generation will still take 2 years.
• Status of Taiwan’s four nuclear power plants.
• How much power do Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 and No. 3 together account for?

President Lai Ching-te mentioned last week at the handover ceremony of the chairman of the Rock Solid Council that the Ministry of Economic Affairs has completed a careful evaluation, stating that Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 and No. 3 “meet the conditions for restart.” Taiwan Power Company formally submitted the plan to restart Nuclear Power Plant No. 3 this week in accordance with the law to the Nuclear Safety Committee for review.

However, Taiwan Power Company emphasized that even if the plan passes the review, it does not mean that the units can immediately restart power generation. It still requires completing a self-safety inspection that takes 1.5 to 2 years, and only after the Nuclear Safety Committee conducts the final review and issues an operating license can it qualify for legal operation.

The earliest power generation will still take 2 years.

This submission is made in accordance with Article 16-1 of the Regulations for Review of Applications for Operating Licenses for Nuclear Reactor Facilities. The plan covers five core areas: the current status of the units and overall schedule, human resources and professional training, facility restart work and regular maintenance planning, preparation of regulations during operation, and quality verification and inspection plans.

Taiwan Power Company pointed out that the most time-consuming key aspect is the self-safety inspection, which involves comprehensive testing and replacement of numerous precision devices. After completion, the inspection report must still be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Committee for substantive review, with the final review schedule determined independently by the committee.

Status of Taiwan’s four nuclear power plants.

Nuclear Power Plant No. 1 (New Taipei City, Shimen District) — Two units, each 636 MW, with a total installed capacity of about 1,272 MW. Unit 1’s operating license expired in December 2018, and Unit 2’s in July 2019, both have entered the decommissioning phase. Important equipment has been largely dismantled, making it infeasible to restart.

Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 (New Taipei City, Wanli District) — Two units, each 985 MW, with a total installed capacity of about 1,970 MW. Both units reached their 40-year operating term in December 2021 and March 2023, respectively, and are currently undergoing decommissioning procedures. Safety and support systems are still maintained, preliminarily assessed to be capable of restart, but used nuclear fuel inside the reactor is yet to be removed, and the safety inspection period is longer than that of Nuclear Power Plant No. 3.

Nuclear Power Plant No. 3 (Pingtung County, Hengchun Township) — Two units, each about 951 MW, with a total installed capacity of about 1,902 MW. The last unit (Unit 2) was officially shut down on May 17, 2025, due to the expiration of its license. The unit’s equipment has not been dismantled and is still undergoing periodic maintenance according to operational standards, preliminarily assessed to have restart conditions.

Nuclear Power Plant No. 4 / Longmen Power Plant (New Taipei City, Gongliao District) — Two units planned, each 1,350 MW, with a total installed capacity of about 2,700 MW. However, Nuclear Power Plant No. 4 has never been commercially operated and is currently in a state of suspension.

How much power do Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 and No. 3 together account for?

You might be curious about how much supply can be brought after the restart.

Based on the two units of Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 (985 MW × 2) plus the two units of Nuclear Power Plant No. 3 (951 MW × 2), the total installed capacity of the four units is approximately 3,872 MW, accounting for about 6% of Taiwan’s total installed capacity (approximately 65,823 MW).

However, nuclear power belongs to baseload power, with a capacity factor of up to 85% to 90%, making the actual power generation contribution higher than the proportion of installed capacity. With an estimated capacity factor of 85%, the annual power generation of all four units in operation would be about 28.8 billion kWh, accounting for about 10% of Taiwan’s annual electricity consumption (approximately 280 to 300 billion kWh).

If we further include the suspended Nuclear Power Plant No. 4 (1,350 MW × 2), the total installed capacity from Nuclear Power Plant No. 2 to No. 4 would increase to 6,572 MW, with an annual power generation of about 48.9 billion kWh, accounting for about 16% to 17% of current electricity consumption in Taiwan and about 14% by 2030, equivalent to about one-sixth of Taiwan’s power supply.

However, the restart of Nuclear Power Plant No. 4 faces higher difficulties in both political and engineering aspects, and there is currently no specific timeline.