Nobel Laureate Lee Calls for Support of Nuclear Energy

Taipei, July 7, 2008 (CENS)--Nobel laureate Lee Yuan-tseh urged the new government, which took over on May 20, to accelerate construction of the fourth nuclear power plant.

Lee, also former president of Academia Sinica, Taiwan's top research institution, made the appeal while delivering a speech on how Taiwan should formulate its energy policy to cope with global warming at the 28th meeting held recently at the Academia Sinica.

As convener of the environmental and energy research panel of the Academia Sinica, Lee suggested that the government should delay decommissioning Taiwan's three existing nuclear power plants, and enhance the plants' power-generating efficiency to extend their life cycles.

Lee said that nuclear energy is a suitable alternative for generating electricity so long as adequate security measures and safe disposal of nuclear waste are properly addressed.

To enhance the utilization of nuclear power, the government should consider installing new generators and adding more advanced facilities at the existing nuclear power plants, he added.

In addition, nuclear power plants can help Taiwan reduce carbon dioxide emissions and stabilize energy supply.

On another front, Lee called for the government to stop giving investment incentives to high energy-consuming industries such as the steel, petrochemical, and cement. Besides, the government should promote energy-saving among government offices as well as schools to make people more aware of environmental protection as a world trend, bringing people to do more to reduce energy consumption.