(Bloomberg) -- GE Vernova Inc., one of the world’s biggest gas turbine makers, says Taiwan is its fastest-growing Asian market, as the island’s plan to phase out nuclear energy forces it to rely more on the fossil fuel to power its world-leading chipmaking industry.
Turning off nuclear on the island “is leading to a steeper curve of replacement demand,” and “gas is the most applicable replacement to nuclear,” said Scott Strazik, GE Vernova’s chief executive officer. “We have a lot of opportunity in places like Taiwan that see a lot of electricity growth with chip demands in front of it,” he said in an interview in Singapore.
Taiwan — home to major chipmakers, including the world’s biggest, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. — plans to phase out its last nuclear reactor by May this year even as power demand is expected to rise in the coming decades. Efforts to develop offshore wind in Taiwan have also faced challenges as rising costs and worsening delays plague the industry, leaving the island with fewer low-carbon energy options.
Still, the island remains open to using new nuclear technology, Taiwan’s Premier Cho Jung-tai said in an interview with Bloomberg News late last year. As long as there is a consensus on safety and good waste management, Taiwan can have a public discussion about the use of atomic power, he said.
For GE Vernova, which also makes small modular nuclear reactors, the global interest in atomic energy represents an opportunity down the line, Strazik said.
“There’s been an incredible level of enthusiasm for new nuclear, but it’s going to take some time to materialize,” he said. “We’re very motivated with our small modular reactor technology that will be commissioned in Canada in 2029 with the first plan, and then we see it playing a more material role in the rest of the world.”
In Southeast Asia, GE Vernova, which was spun off from General Electric Co. last year, sees opportunities in countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, where gas demand is growing as more data centers are sprouting and the need for electricity is rising.
(Updates with Taiwan’s outlook on new nuclear technology in fourth paragraph, CEO’s comments on nuclear energy in fifth and sixth paragraphs.)
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