Global Decline in Nuclear Power Demand Amid Pandemic

The number of nuclear plants operating globally is at a 30 year low. New nuclear plants struggle for investment thus development and upkeep. Proponents of nuclear power say that, as a low-carbon power source, it can be of utmost importance in helping countries meet their climate goals, but several plants around the world are meeting their end and many new ones are facing delays. Of the 52 new plants being built globally at least 33 are behind schedule, while not a single new project came online in the first half of 2020. This year nuclear plant operators have suffered the consequences by the COVID-19 pandemic with lockdowns causing low electricity demand and reducing power prices significantly. Nuclear power was not able to avoid the impacts of the pandemic, though in most cases reactors have continued to produce electricity. Global nuclear power generation went down by about 3% in the first quarter of 2020, caused by lower electricity demand. In the first quarter of 2020, most of the reductions in nuclear power were caused by lower electricity demand, alongside planned permanent closures of nuclear facilities. Electricity consumption in certain regions is not likely to reach pre-pandemic levels for many months. The European Union had the largest reduction in the first quarter of 2020. Lower demand led to nuclear output reductions in several countries, France being the most notable, where nuclear power generation went down by 10%. Multiple reactors were taken offline as demand fell. Shutdown of nuclear power plants also led to reductions. Nuclear power has also been an important source of power in France, Germany, Belgium, the Slovak Republic and Sweden. In Germany output fell by 17%, as steps are taken towards a complete nuclear power phase out by the end of 2022. In the United States, nuclear output went down by 2%. Low electricity cost and demand have continued throughout 2020. The lockdown has also impacted nuclear power construction activity and slowed it down by a significant amount. The completion of numerous projects is likely to be pushed by a few months to 2021, which includes two reactors in China and one in Finland. Other construction delays are likely to happen in France, the UK and the US. Nuclear power is not a preferred source of electricity as of currently, and it seems that not many countries will implement nuclear power on a higher scale any time soon. 

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A Surge in China’s Cyber Attacks on Taiwanese Government

Government websites of Taiwan experience more than 20 million cyber-attacks every month, mostly from China, reported CNA on April 5th. It seems that China is trying to assert its dominance in more than just the real world – cyber-attacks are becoming more common between these two conflicting countries. The cyber-attacks this year targeted at least 10 government agencies and the email accounts of around 6,000 officials, reported the office of deputy director of the Taiwan Investigation Bureau’s Cyber Security Investigation Office, Liu Chia-zung. The office added that they have not been able to identify what data has been stolen as the hackers concealed their tracks skillfully.  According to Chien Hung-wei, Director of Executive Yuan’s Department of Cyber Security, Taiwan is exposed to 20 million to 40 million hacking activities into its public sector per month. Despite the fact that the online attacks are often camouflaged, Chien believes they are largely conducted by Chinese perpetrators, judging from analyses of the characteristics and types of the offensive maneuvers. “It is part of a higher-level vision by [Chinese president] Xi Jinping to build China into a cyber superpower,” Chein reported that it is part of a higher-level plan by the Chinese president to turn China into a cyber leader. Most of the cyber-attacks are registered as 1st to 2nd grade minor events. These mostly involve website content changes. However, 12 cases were identified as more serious 3rd grade cyber security events, such as disruption of important service systems and data breach. One example of this is unauthorized access to email accounts of the Bureau of Consular Affairs using password cracking. This resulted in leaked personal data regarding oversea travel.  One countermeasure the Department of Cyber Security has put together is forming a task force under the name of “Cybersecurity Service Team”. This team began its operations in April, and their most important tasks consist of assistance in information security issues and staff training. Even if a country has amazing cyber-defense, which is a case for Taiwan, it is near to impossible to deal with the huge number of cyber-attacks they face every day.

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