TAIPEI: Nearly 70 percent of the population favors replacing nuclear power with renewable energy, while 50 percent think nuclear power should be maintained as an option, according to the results of a poll released yesterday.

However, Taiwan Power Company, the sole supplier of electricity in Taiwan, said that renewable energy may not be a realistic path, as the average consumer would complain about its much higher price.

In a telephone poll conducted by Shih Hsin University on randomly chosen residents over the age of 20, it was found that 49.1 percent support nuclear power as one of the energy production options, while 69.9 percent favor replacing nuclear power with renewable and clean energy.

Some 73.8 percent of the respondents support industrial restructuring so as to help cut carbon dioxide emissions, according to the poll, which was commissioned by the Atomic Energy Council to determine awareness of energy production and consumption and public opinion about those issues.

Liang Shih-wu, director of the Shih Hsin public opinion poll center, said the survey results indicate that the Taiwan public generally agrees there is a need for alternative, cleaner energy, but opinions on the safety of nuclear power are evenly divided.

About one-third of the respondents consider nuclear power as "safe," one-third think it is "unsafe," and one-third have no opinion on the matter, he said.

Support for clean energy is a matter of theory and practicality.

Although Taiwan residents in general support the development of renewable energy, they may find their electricity bills unaffordable once the much more expensive renewable energy is adopted to replace traditional sources of electrical power, according to Hsiao Chin-yi, director of the Taipower Department of Public Services.

Besides, Hsiao said, Taipower encountered opposition or resistance from local residents when it tried to establish facilities for solar power or wind power.

Meanwhile, Yang Chao-yueh, an associate professor at National Taiwan University's Institute of Oceanography, said the global share of nuclear power has been dwindling steadily. A German research team has found that global deposits of uranium - the raw material used for nuclear power - are enough to last no more than 40 years for use by nuclear power plants around the world, he said.

"With such prospects, it is not worth pursuing nuclear power generation in Taiwan at any cost," Yang added.

The survey conducted in November collected 517 valid samples, and had a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 4.3 percentage points.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 12/29/2009 page2)