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Maanshan-2 disconnects, ending Taiwan’s last operating nuclear reactor under the phase-out path

On 17 May 2025 Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant unit 2 was disconnected from the grid as its 40-year licence expired, leaving Taiwan without an operating power reactor under the DPP nuclear-free 2025 path. In the causal graph this event weakens the driver Nuclear-Energy Deployment.

Sources: [1][2]

Read the full account

On 17 May 2025 Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant unit 2 was disconnected from the grid as its 40-year licence expired, leaving Taiwan without an operating power reactor under the DPP nuclear-free 2025 path. The Ministry of Economic Affairs said new gas and renewable units would cover the megawatts. He did not sit as Taipower’s shift supervisor. A later restart file is a child.

Context

Tsai-era phase-out sat as parent. Neighbouring 29 April reserve-margin briefing is parent weather. He owned the second-phase energy-transition line.

29 April 2025 reserve-and-AI briefing is neighbouring. 23 August 2025 restart referendum is a child.

The president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is head of state under the Additional Articles and commander-in-chief. He does not write a PLA communique, a TSMC capex print, or a Legislative Yuan majority. A National Day address is not a completed interceptor. An inaugural line is not a PLA missile. A special-act press conference is not a passed statute. William Lai is a common English name for the same person; the stored English name is Lai Ching-te.

Why it matters

The path is nuclear-energy deployment and fossil-fuel dependence: a completed last-reactor disconnection under a path his presidency continued.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Lai Ching-te

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.7 · verified

    Taipower operated the unit. MOEA licensed the expiry. He owned the energy-transition line the premier restated.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactMaanshan-2 disconnects, ending Taiwan’s last operating nuclear reactor under the phase-out path
    2. weakensDriverNuclear-Energy Deployment

    impact weight 0.8 · Effect from 17 May 2025 · verified

    Disconnecting the last operating reactor is a dated nuclear-capacity contraction.

    1. FactMaanshan-2 disconnects, ending Taiwan’s last operating nuclear reactor under the phase-out path
    2. weakensDriverEnergy Security
    3. strengthensIndicators (4)Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population)
    Mixed path

    impact weight 0.45 · Effect from 17 May 2025 · verified

    Losing a fuel-dense baseload unit contracts remaining siege-endurance, with lag.

    • Poverty headcount ratio at $3.00 a day (2021 PPP) (% of population)

      via Energy Security

      Better

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.28 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.62)

      Observed

      10.4% · 10.2 above the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      7 readings, 2018–2024: fell from 11.1% to 10.4%.

      Above normal = worse

    • Inability to keep home adequately warm

      via Energy Security

      Worse

      Weakens · Relationship strength 0.27 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.6)

      Observed

      7.97% of population aged 16 years or over · 5.2 above the normal line (2025)

      Worse than normal

      8 readings, 2018–2025: rose from 7.77% of population aged 16 years or over to 7.97% of population aged 16 years or over.

      Above normal = worse

    • Access to electricity (share of world population)

      via Energy Security

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.23 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.5)

      Observed

      91.6% of population · 8.4 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      4 readings, 2020–2023: rose from 90.4% of population to 91.6% of population.

      Above normal = better

    All indicators on this path (4)

    • Life expectancy at birth

      via Energy Security

      Better

      Weakens · Relationship strength 0.22 (weight 0.45 × strength 0.48)

      Observed

      80 Years · 2.3 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      6 readings, 2018–2023: rose from 79.5 Years to 80 Years.

      Above normal = better

    1. FactMaanshan-2 disconnects, ending Taiwan’s last operating nuclear reactor under the phase-out path
    2. strengthensDriverFossil-Fuel Dependence
    3. strengthensIndicatorOut-of-School Rate, Primary School Age (global)
    Worsening path

    impact weight 0.55 · Effect from 17 May 2025 · verified

    Replacing those megawatts with named gas units is a dated fossil-share instrument.

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.World Nuclear News — reactor closure marks Taiwan’s nuclear exitWorld Nuclear News · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Energy Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs — nuclear and electricity transition recordEnergy Administration MOEA (Taiwan) · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Energy Administration MOEA (Taiwan) carries the official instrument or communique. World Nuclear News records the same dated act independently.

Established: 17 May 2025 Maanshan-2 disconnection, independently reported.

Not established: a unique later blackout coefficient from that Saturday, or that every later kWh was thereby gas-fired that hour.

MOEA licensed the expiry. He owned the energy-transition line the premier restated.. A later repeal, court stay, or successor order would be a different Fact with a different date.

Co-authors and later implementers named in Context remain on the file. If a later repeal, stay, or successor instrument exists, it needs its own date and its own row. The contribution described on this Person row is limited to Taipower operated the unit. MOEA licensed the expiry. That limit is the alternative to treating office-holding as authorship of every later series.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorLai Ching-te
  2. contributed toFactMaanshan-2 disconnects, ending Taiwan’s last operating nuclear reactor under the phase-out path
  3. weakensDrivers (3)Nuclear-Energy Deployment

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Maanshan-2 disconnects, ending Taiwan’s last operating nuclear reactor under the phase-out path. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/tw-lai-maanshan-2025

https://factrail.ai/facts/tw-lai-maanshan-2025

Accessed 15 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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