Whether Taiwan needs another nuclear power plant has been under heated debate. As more people question the safety of a new nuclear power plant that is being constructed, LED firms should seize the opportunity to promote the energy-saving feature of LED lighting and raise awareness among consumers to conserve energy.
Ever since 1973, when Taiwan set an energy policy to a goal to maintain stable supply, the emphasis has been on producing more energy rather than conserving energy. Taiwan has failed to realize that as a country that lacks energy resources, conservation and constant modifications of the energy policies are long-term strategies to prevent electricity shortage.
The government claims that if Taiwan decommissions all nuclear power plants, there will be a severe power shortage. According to Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), the electricity generated by the three existing nuclear power plants in 2012 was around 40 billion kWh with the cost at NT$0.7/kWh (US$0.02/kWh). If the fourth nuclear power plant begins operation and generates around 19.3 billion kWh of electricity per year at the cost of NT$2/kWh, the total supply of electricity from all four nuclear power plants will be around 59.3 billion kWh, says Taipower. If the amount of electricity generated by the four nuclear power plants is replaced by natural gas, which carries higher costs, the total cost of generating electricity will increase significantly, according to Taipower.
Robert Yeh, chairman of Taiwan-based LED packaging house Everlight, stated that society has been focused on how to create energy rather than saving energy. Creating energy requires costs, said Yeh, such as economic, social and environmental ones, and even lives. To build the fourth nuclear power plant, Taiwan has invested NT$270 billion and according to environmentalists, after the plant begins operation, Taiwan will need to invest at least NT$100 billion more.
To switch all traditional lighting into LED lighting will be an easier way to solve the electricity problem and will save the government a lot of money. Currently, lighting systems account for 17-18% of energy use in Taiwan, a figure that is comparable to the global average of 19%. If Taiwan uses around 200 billion kWh per year, 20% of that means 40 billion kWh.
According to the LED industry, if all lighting gets switched to LED lighting, 85% of 40 billion kWh of electricity can be saved, that is equivalent to 34 billion kilowatt hours. From this point of view, by switching to LED lighting, Taiwan will not need a new nuclear power plant, and the three existing ones can also be decommissioned.
The brightness efficiency of mass-produced LED components is likely to reach 180lm/W and as the technology matures, many countries have been setting targets to switch to LED lighting.
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) recently announced Planning for Development of Semiconductor Lighting and Energy-saving Industries. The plan aims to eliminate the use of all incandescent lighting above 60W in 2015 and lower the product's market share to below 10%. The plan also states the target to increase market share of LED functional lighting products to above 20% and predicts the output value of LED lighting and energy-saving industry to grow by an average of 30% in 2015.
After the March 11, 2011 earthquake that caused the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan has been aggressive in saving energy. This has also led Japan to become the country with the highest commercialization rate of LED lighting. The necessity of the fourth nuclear power plant in Taiwan is still under debate but the more important issue is energy distribution and use. Taiwan-based LED firms should use this opportunity to educate consumers about saving energy by switching to LED products.
