In this episode of Strait Forward, Channing and Libby delve into Taiwan's energy security, a critical issue due to the island’s high import dependency and vulnerability to geopolitical risks. They open with a segment featuring Caleb Barnes, Associate Director for Fusion at SCSP, to discuss the most common concerns about nuclear energy in Taiwan, then welcome Tsaiying Lu, Research Fellow & Director of Energy Security Research at Taiwan’s Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), who details Taiwan's ongoing energy resilience efforts. Tsaiying explains the complex politics surrounding nuclear power in Taiwan, how the island plans to meet the energy demands of its semiconductor fabs and the AI industry, and new research into lesser-known threats to Taiwan’s energy supply.

Additional reading:

• Vulnerabilities at Depth: Submarine Power Cable Sabotage and Supply Chain Risks Amid China’s Rise
• Climate Change and Infrastructure Resilience: An Analysis of Water Resources and Electricity Use in Taiwan’s Semiconductor Industry

Strait Forward is a podcast by the Special Competitive Studies Project.