South Korea Is Revamping A Push For Nuclear Energy To Meet Its Emission Targets
In energy, it looks like common sense is starting to win out at least somewhere…
South Korea is going to be adding 4 more nuclear reactors by 2030 and will also be extending the life of 10 other plants, according to a new report from Bloomberg. The expansion of its nuclear power capabilities comes amidst a struggle to bring the country to net zero emissions.
More than 30% of the nation’s power will soon be provided by nuclear by the end of the decade, the report says. This would be up from 27.4% last year. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been a supporter of nuclear throughout his campaign for president.
Yoon Suk Yeol has said that nuclear could be used alongside of renewables to reach emission targets. Renewable energy’s share of the country’s emissions targets will be adjusted under the new government, however it’ll maintain the previous government’s emissions goals.
President Moon Jae-in’s administration previously had plans to phase out nuclear, a policy that some said could see electricity costs for the country rise 5x by 2050. Additional nuclear reactor builds were scrapped under the administration.
The incoming administration is also going to be expanding strategic reserves for oil and liquefied natural gas. Crude stockpiles, for example, will rise to more than 100 million barrels by 2025, up from 96.5 million barrels currently. LNG reserves will rise to 18.4 million kiloliters by 2034, up from 13.7 million, the report says.
Jang Daul, a government relations and advocacy specialist at Greenpeace East Asia based in Seoul, of course had a problem with the idea, telling Bloomberg: “The fact that the new government is saying renewable energy will be adjusted at a ‘reasonable level’ basically means it will be lowering the renewable electricity target.”
We have long suggested that nuclear power is a pragmatic solution to the world’s energy needs and our contributors have argued that advocates know it is clean, efficient and safe.
