Taipower’s review-and-approval “restart operation plan for Unit 3” says it will take “at least 2 years.” If the nuclear power plant is fully operational, how much electricity can it provide for Taiwan?

Taiwan Power Company this week officially submitted the plan for the restart of the No. 3 Nuclear Power Plant to the Nuclear Safety Committee for review, but even if approved, it will still take 18 to 24 months to complete the autonomous safety inspections, with the earliest possible power supply being by the end of 2027.
(Background: Lai Ching-te confirmed: Nuclear No. 2 and No. 3 “meet restart conditions,” Taiwan’s power gap cannot hold up in the AI era.)
(Background Supplement: Taiwan’s electricity prices are frozen! The Business Association revealed the review results ahead of time, government subsidies for nuclear power restart “are under discussion.”)

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• The earliest power generation will still have to wait 2 years
• Status of Taiwan’s four nuclear power plants
• What share of Taiwan’s power comes from full operation of Nuclear No. 2 and No. 3?

President Lai Ching-te stated last week during the handover ceremony of the chairman of the Rock Solid Association that the Ministry of Economic Affairs has completed a careful assessment, indicating that Nuclear No. 2 and No. 3 “have the conditions for restart.” Taiwan Power Company this week officially submitted the plan for the restart of Nuclear No. 3 according to the law, and it is now under review by the Nuclear Safety Committee.

However, Taiwan Power Company emphasized that even if the plan passes the review, it does not mean that the units can immediately resume power generation. It will still take 1.5 to 2 years to complete autonomous safety inspections, and only after the Nuclear Safety Committee completes the final review and issues an operational license will the units be legally qualified for operation.

The earliest power generation will still have to wait 2 years

This submission is conducted in accordance with Article 16-1 of the Review Guidelines for Applications for Operating Licenses of Nuclear Reactor Facilities, covering five major core areas: the current status of the units and overall schedule, human resources and professional training, facility restart work and regular maintenance planning, relevant regulatory preparation during operation, as well as quality verification and inspection plans.

Taiwan Power Company pointed out that the most time-consuming key aspect going forward is the autonomous safety inspection, which involves comprehensive testing and replacement of a large number of precision devices; once completed, the inspection report must still be submitted to the Nuclear Safety Committee for substantial review, with the final review timeline independently determined by the Nuclear Safety Committee.

Status of Taiwan’s four nuclear power plants

Nuclear No. 1 Plant (Shimen District, New Taipei City) — Two units, each 636 MW, with a total installed capacity of approximately 1,272 MW. Unit 1’s operating license expired in December 2018, and Unit 2’s expired in July 2019, both have entered the decommissioning phase. After assessment, most important equipment has been dismantled, making restart unfeasible.

Nuclear No. 2 Plant (Wanli District, New Taipei City) — Two units, each 985 MW, with a total installed capacity of approximately 1,970 MW. Both units reached their 40-year operating limit in December 2021 and March 2023, respectively, and are currently undergoing decommissioning procedures. Safety and support systems are still maintained; preliminary assessment indicates that restart conditions still exist, but the spent nuclear fuel in the reactor still needs to be removed, and the safety inspection timeline is longer than that of Nuclear No. 3.

Nuclear No. 3 Plant (Hengchun Township, Pingtung County) — Two units, each approximately 951 MW, with a total installed capacity of approximately 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 regular maintenance according to operational standards; preliminary assessment indicates it has restart conditions.

Nuclear No. 4 Plant / Longmen Power Plant (Gongliao District, New Taipei City) — Planned to have two units, each 1,350 MW, with a total installed capacity of approximately 2,700 MW. However, Nuclear No. 4 has never commenced operation and is currently in a stored state.

What share of Taiwan’s power comes from full operation of Nuclear No. 2 and No. 3?

You may be curious, how much supply can be brought back after the restart?

If we calculate with two units from Nuclear No. 2 (985 MW × 2) plus two units from Nuclear 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 is considered baseload power, with a capacity factor of 85 to 90%, meaning the actual power generation contribution is higher than the proportion of installed capacity. Based on an 85% capacity factor, the annual electricity generation of all four units operating would be about 28.8 billion kWh, which accounts for about 10% of Taiwan’s annual electricity consumption (approximately 280 to 300 billion kWh).

If we further include the stored Nuclear No. 4 Plant (1,350 MW × 2), the total installed capacity from Nuclear No. 2 to Nuclear No. 4 would increase to 6,572 MW, with an annual electricity generation of approximately 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.

However, the restart of Nuclear No. 4 faces higher difficulties politically and engineering-wise, and there is currently no specific timeline.