Taiwan Buys Fossil Fuels to Offset Lower Nuclear Generation

Taiwan has moved to secure liquefied natural gas supplies after the closing of a nuclear reactor increased the need for alternative power generation.

(Bloomberg) — Taiwan has moved to secure liquefied natural gas supplies after the closing of a nuclear reactor increased the need for alternative power generation.

CPC Corp., which supplies gas to Taiwan’s power utility, bought at least 10 LNG cargoes for delivery between May 2023 and March 2024 through a tender this week, according to traders with knowledge of the matter. The purchases were part of a larger strategy to secure gas over the next year amid weaker nuclear output, the traders said.

A CPC spokesperson declined to comment on the recent LNG procurement, and said the company will continue to adjust purchasing plans on a rolling basis based on market demand.

President Tsai Ing-wen’s Democratic Progressive Party ordered all of Taiwan’s reactors to be phased out after winning power in 2016 on an anti-nuclear platform. That bucks a global trend of governments reviving interest in the power source following a surge in fossil fuel prices.

Earlier this week, Taiwan permanently closed the No. 2 unit at the Kuosheng nuclear plant. Just two reactors are still operating in Taiwan’s Maanshan facility, and the government plans to shut them over the next two years as part of the phaseout.

–With assistance from Betty Hou.

(Updates with details of the purchase in 2nd paragraph.)

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com