Taiwan has moved its Maanshan nuclear plant one step closer to restarting, good news for anyone worried about the island's tight power supply, but the reactor is still years of paperwork away from producing electricity.

• Regulators finished reviewing the restart plan, so the plant officially shifts from being wound down to being prepped for a restart.
• Three hurdles remain: carrying out the restart plan, an in-house safety check by state utility Taipower, and a final green light from the nuclear safety agency.
• The hardest part is proving that a reactor built to last 40 years can safely run for 60 — those calculations then go to outside experts for review.
• A national vote on scrapping Taiwan's nuclear-free policy is set for late November alongside local elections, but the result is not binding either way.
• Restarting is expected to cost billions, and a second plant, Kuosheng, is stuck because its spent fuel pool is full with nowhere to put the rods.

Outlook: The safety checks should wrap up by the end of next year at the latest, so no Taiwanese reactor is coming back online before then.