Taiwan's Energy Gamble feat. Angelica Oung

In this episode, I am joined by Angelica Oung, an energy reporter
from Taiwan, to discuss Taiwan's plan to power the island with up
to 50% natural gas, 30% goal, 20% renewables, and 0% nuclear.
This would mean shutting down its three operable nuclear plants,
and flushing the money spent on a fourth fully constructed but
never used reactor down the drain. 


The plan appears to be a whole-hearted embrace of what Meredith
Angwin calls the "fatal trifecta" of energy: over-reliance on
renewables, just-in-time natural gas, and energy imports. Taiwan
produces no fossil fuels of its own, so must import 100% of its
fossil fuel needs. And without any real goals of decarbonization,
imported LNG is, as Oung says, "a bridge fuel to nowhere."


Oung also reflects on her experience in the offshore wind
industry; her shift from opposing to supporting nuclear; her
realization that intermittency poses a special problem for
Taiwan's isolated electric grid; the politicization of nuclear
power from a journalistic perspective; and the past energy
decision of Taiwanese governments.