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Economics minister says "no power shortages until 2030"
Ministry of Economic Affairs Minister JW Guo says there will be no power shortage problems until at least 2030, but that the growth of AI could disrupt that.
Guo had explained that the 2030 date was set as it generally takes six years for a power plant to be built and become operational. The economics minister says current estimates of power consumption take existing applications to set up new factories and artificial intelligence databanks into consideration.
However, he acknowledged that if more AI research centres or databanks are set up next year, that calculation would need to be changed. The comments come amid recent debate on whether the Number 3 Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung should be extended.
The minister says as AI could see explosive growth from 2027 to 2029 and as such, "the third nuclear power plant could act as a backup plan."
But he stressed that such a plan would have to be carried out in compliance with the law and even if laws were amended and the operations at the plant extended, it would still take two to three years for the necessary safety checks to be conducted.
