President Ma Ying-jeou says that Taiwan is in no place to eliminate any options in the nation’s energy portfolio. His comments came on Monday at the National Energy Conference, where experts have gathered to discuss the nation’s energy policies.
The president said that as an island nation, Taiwan is unable to import electricity from neighboring countries. That makes the nation highly dependent on imported fuel.
“I want to stress the fact that Taiwan is a nation that is 98% reliant on imported energy," said Ma. "In order to avoid power shortages, we have to include coal, fossil fuels, natural gas, nuclear energy, and wind and solar power within the nation’s energy portfolio. We are in no place to eliminate any of these options because we would not be able to import electricity from neighboring countries in the event of a power shortage.”
The president said there are five factors to consider when deciding on the nation’s energy portfolio: quantity, economy, reliability, sustainability, and cleanliness. It’s hard to find an energy option that can fulfill all these factors. The president said he hopes the two-day conference can provide the nation with more solutions to its energy problems.