Taiwan’s ambitious energy transition plans which include an increased reliance on LNG use will depend on the outcome of presidential and parliamentary elections to be held on Jan. 13. The elections will have “a decisive impact” especially as energy policy has been “unprecedently prominent in the campaign,” former deputy environmental minister Chan Shun-kui tells Energy Intelligence. Taiwan remained the world’s sixth-largest LNG importer, receiving 20.55 million tons of LNG in 2023, according to data from commodity analytics firm Kpler. Voters will choose a successor to center-left Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) President Tsai Ing-wen, who has held power for two four-year terms, and the 113-member Legislative Yuan, Taiwan’s parliament, in which the DPP currently holds a majority. Vice President and DPP Chairman Lai Ching-te is leading the DPP’s drive to win a third term in office. They are being challenged by New Taipei City mayor Hou Yu-ih for the right-wing opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and former Taipei City mayor Ko Wen-je of the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). Lai is widely seen as most likely to win the presidency, but the race has been more competitive than previously expected. However, most analysts believe that no party will win a majority in the Legislative Yuan, which could leave TPP as a “decisive minority.” Opposition to Energy Transition Plans The election will decide whether Taiwan will continue implementing Tsai’s energy transition and 2050 net-zero programs, which include a commitment to complete the phase out of the last remaining nuclear power reactor, the 951-megawatt Maanshan-2 PWR, operated by state-owned Taiwan Power in May 2025 after operating for 40 years. The energy transition policy, introduced in 2017, aims to develop renewables to replace nuclear power as well as increase LNG-fueled electricity production to reduce coal consumption. Its initial target was for renewables to rise […]
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