Maanshan 2 is a 938 MWe (net) Taipower PWR shut in 2025 under Taiwan's nuclear phase-out. After a 2025 law allowed licence renewal to 60 years, Taipower applied to restart the plant, and in September 2026 the Nuclear Safety Commission approved its initial restart plan; 18-24 months of safety inspections and a new licence are still required.
Background: Palisades fuel loading: Holtec restart timeline and what comes next · NRC reactor licensing process, explained
Current state
| Status | Under review |
| Country | Taiwan |
| Location | Hengchun, Pingtung County |
| Plant | Maanshan |
| Unit | 2 |
| Operator | Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) |
| Reactor type | PWR |
| Net capacity (MWe) | 938 |
| Restart type | Policy reversal |
| Shut down | 2025-05-17 |
| Restart target | 2028 |
| Years offline | 1.4 |
| Regulator | Nuclear Safety Commission approved Taipower's initial restart plan (Sept 2026); self-safety inspections (~18-24 months), implementation report review and new operating licence still required |
Notes
restart target '2028' is the earliest date cited by Economy Minister Kung Ming-hsin per local media (Taipei Times/Bloomberg), not a firm schedule. Spent fuel must be removed from the core (dependent on delayed dry storage) before reactor inspections (NEI). WNA lists Maanshan 2 permanent shutdown as 18 May 2025 (licence expiry).
Timeline
- 2025-05 — The Legislative Yuan amended the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act to allow licence renewals of up to 20 years. (source)
- 2025-05-17 — Maanshan 2, Taiwan's last operating reactor, was disconnected from the grid at licence expiry, ending nuclear generation in Taiwan. (source)
- 2025-08-23 — A referendum on restarting Maanshan won 74% yes votes but failed the 25%-of-electorate threshold. (source)
- 2025-12 — The Ministry of Economic Affairs approved Taipower's assessment finding restart of Maanshan and Kuosheng feasible. (source)
- 2026-03 — Taipower submitted a licence renewal and restart plan for Maanshan to the Nuclear Safety Commission. (source)
- 2026-09-24 — The Nuclear Safety Commission cleared its review of Taipower's initial Maanshan restart plan. (source)
The timeline is append-only: corrections are added as new entries. Stated targets appear in the current-state table, never as milestones.
Also tracked
Related units
- Armenian NPP Unit 2 (Metsamor 2) Restarted · AM
- Kuosheng Unit 1 (Second Nuclear Power Plant) Proposed · Taiwan
- Kuosheng Unit 2 (Second Nuclear Power Plant) Proposed · Taiwan
- Maanshan Unit 1 (Third Nuclear Power Plant) Under review · Taiwan
See all 45 units in the Nuclear Plant Restarts Tracker →
Sources
- Taipower applies to restart Maanshan plant — World Nuclear News, checked 2026-10-11
- Taiwan's pro-nuclear vote fails to hit turnout threshold — World Nuclear News, checked 2026-10-11
- Taiwan clears path to restart reactors — Nuclear Engineering International, checked 2026-10-11
- Nuclear plant restart review advances — Taipei Times (Bloomberg), checked 2026-10-11
- Nuclear Power in Taiwan — World Nuclear Association, checked 2026-10-11
- Plan to resume operation of No. 3 Nuclear Plant delivered to Nuclear Safety Commission — Taiwan Power Company (primary), checked 2026-10-11