NVIDIA CEO visits Taiwan, urges stable energy supply

Jensen Huang, the Taiwanese-American CEO of NVIDIA, visited Taiwan on Aug. 22 and met with officials from TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor foundry. A significant portion of NVIDIA’s products are manufactured at TSMC. Huang told reporters that he sincerely hopes various forms of energy will be developed to support the growth of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

The following day, Taiwan held a referendum on whether to restart the Maanshan Nuclear Power Plant located near South Bay, which had been shut down three months ago. About 4.34 million voters, or 74% of those who cast ballots, voted in favor, overwhelmingly surpassing the roughly 1.51 million who opposed it. However, the referendum was effectively rejected because the law requires that affirmative votes exceed 25% of all eligible voters, roughly 5 million. Nonetheless, the results indicated substantial public support for restarting the nuclear plant. Taiwanese media interpreted Huang’s remarks the previous day as also urging the reopening of the nuclear facility.

In the 1980s, Taiwan, along with South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong, then known as the “Four Asian Tigers,” operated a total of six nuclear power plants. At that time, most of the country’s electricity was generated from nuclear power. However, following the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan, safety concerns over Taiwan’s nuclear plants, which are located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, intensified.

Tsai Ing-wen, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party who served as president from 2016 until May last year, also pursued a policy to phase out nuclear power. As a result, all six nuclear power plants were shut down, and Taiwan now relies on thermal energy sources such as natural gas and coal. Since the start of the nuclear phase-out, the country has struggled with chronic power shortages. In June last year, a blackout occurred at the Neihu Science Park in Taipei, home to companies including NVIDIA and Foxconn, affecting around 3,000 companies.

Like South Korea, Taiwan has a manufacturing-centered economy and a high dependence on exports, making a stable power supply essential. According to recent data from S&P Global, TSMC accounts for 8% of Taiwan’s total electricity consumption. “With TSMC mass-producing NVIDIA’s high-performance AI chips, its electricity share is expected to reach 24% by 2030. Relying solely on fossil fuels, nearly all of which are imported, would pose a significant national risk

Taiwan’s economy grew 8.0% in the second quarter compared with the same period last year, thanks to strong performance in the semiconductor industry. This contrasts with Hong Kong, effectively controlled by China and suffering from significant capital and talent outflows, which posted negative growth in the first quarter, and South Korea, whose second-quarter growth barely reached 0.6%. With a stable power supply, Taiwan’s economic growth could have easily exceeded 8%.

Nuclear power is not without flaws. However, it is clear that nuclear energy is more cost-effective than other sources and produces fewer carbon emissions. With the advent of the AI era, the prolonged war in Ukraine, and the impacts of climate change. Major European countries that had pursued nuclear phase-outs, including Italy, Belgium, Lithuania, Denmark, and Sweden, have recently begun either declaring a return to nuclear power or reviewing the option. In this context, arguments opposing nuclear power solely on the grounds of the extremely low probability of accidents are simply hollow.