Taiwan prepares to restart Maanshan nuclear reactor amid rising AI power demand

Taiwan has approved a preliminary plan to restart the Maanshan nuclear power plant, marking a notable shift in the island's energy policy after years of phasing out nuclear power. The plant, in southern Taiwan, was shut down in May 2025 and is now being considered for a return to electricity generation as early as 2028. The move comes as the government weighs how to meet rising demand from the semiconductor and artificial intelligence sectors.

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The Nuclear Safety Commission said last month that it had finished reviewing plans to restart the reactor, according to the supplied report. That review is a key step in any possible return to service, although the plant still needs to clear further requirements before it can generate power again. The report also says the preliminary restart plan has been approved, but it does not give a final timetable for when operations could resume.

The policy shift reflects growing concern about energy security and the reliability of supply. The supplied material says several power outages have helped change public sentiment, while experts cited in the report say factories and high-tech industry are driving electricity demand higher. Supporters of nuclear power argue that Taiwan needs a stable supply for both daily use and industrial development, while critics say the Maanshan plant is too small to make a major difference and that waste storage and accident risks remain unresolved.

The debate carries wider significance because Taiwan is a major hub for semiconductors, and the expansion of artificial intelligence has increased pressure on power systems in many places. In Taiwan, that pressure is now feeding directly into a reassessment of the energy mix. The island had spent about a decade moving away from nuclear power and replacing it with natural gas and renewable energy, so the current reversal suggests that supply concerns are now outweighing some of the earlier political and public resistance.

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The Maanshan plant was the last of Taiwan's nuclear power stations to be shut down, making it symbolically important in the island's energy debate. The report links the earlier anti-nuclear mood to the Fukushima disaster in Japan in 2011, when concerns about operating reactors in a seismically active region became more prominent. That history still shapes the discussion, especially among those who remain worried about safety and radioactive waste.

At the same time, the report shows how economic priorities are changing the conversation. Taiwan's semiconductor industry is central to its economy, and the artificial intelligence sector is adding to electricity needs as the government pushes for growth. The result is a policy dilemma between energy security, industrial demand and long-term safety concerns, with the Maanshan restart now at the centre of that balance.

What remains unclear is how quickly the project can move from preliminary approval to actual generation, and what further regulatory or technical steps will be required. The report says the plant could resume power generation as early as 2028, but that depends on the outcome of the remaining process. The key issue to watch is whether Taiwan can reconcile rising power demand with the political and safety concerns that have long surrounded nuclear energy.

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