Taiwan’s pivotal role in the global semiconductor industry has brought increasing international attention to its energy autonomy. In a recent report, The New York Times highlighted Taiwan’s energy security challenges in the context of mounting pressure from China, citing analysis from Tsaiying Lu, Director of the Energy Resilience and Sustainability Program at DSET.
The report references a recent article from Naval and Merchant Ships, a Chinese military journal, which underscored Taiwan’s acute energy vulnerability. Taiwan relies on imports for over 96% of its energy, with the majority of oil sourced from the Middle East and delivered via maritime routes. The journal argued that China could impose a blockade and “win without fighting,” a scenario that recent Chinese military drills surrounding Taiwan have sought to simulate. Given Taiwan’s central role in global advanced semiconductor manufacturing, such a disruption would not only threaten Taiwan but could also have profound implications for global supply chains and the broader economy.
As Taiwan’s semiconductor and AI sectors continue to expand, its electricity demand is rising sharply. The report notes that TSMC currently operates 17 fabrication plants in Taiwan and plans to build six more this year. In a business gathering this March, Raymond Greene, Director of the American Institute in Taiwan, remarked: “Data centers filled with A.I. servers, increasingly precise semiconductors, state-of-the-art fabs — all of these advanced industrial breakthroughs require unprecedented amounts of energy.”
In response to the surging demand, Taiwan is accelerating its energy transition, though not without obstacles. According to DSET’s Lu Tsaiying, “Disagreement between legislators and difficulties acquiring land have slowed the energy transition.”
The Times also reviewed the historical evolution of Taiwan’s energy portfolio. Nuclear energy once provided more than 50% of Taiwan’s electricity. However, following the 2011 Fukushima disaster and years of public opposition, particularly over nuclear waste disposal, Taiwan has gradually phased out nuclear power. The last operating nuclear reactor was shut down just last month.
Nonetheless, The New York Times observed that despite President Lai Ching-te’s assurance that Taiwan would not face an electricity shortfall even without nuclear power, there is growing momentum for a nuclear revival. With increasing industrial electricity demands and concerns over grid reliability, public and political attitudes toward nuclear energy in Taiwan are gradually shifting. Calls to reconsider nuclear power are gaining renewed traction.
