Published : Dec. 29, 2020 - 11:52
(123rf)
The government has finalized its energy mix for 2020-2034, aiming to increase the use of renewables while reducing the dependence on nuclear and coal-fired power plants.
According to the Ninth Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand approved by a review committee affiliated with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, renewable energy will account for 40.3 percent of South Korea’s nameplate capacity in 2034, reaching 77.8 gigawatts, from 20.2 gigawatts in 2020.
Renewables’ actual contribution to the nation’s power generation in 2034 is expected to extend to 8.6 percent, up from 3.3 percent this year.
A total of 30 coal-fired power plants will be closed by 2034 upon completion of their 30-year operational life spans. Some 24 of them will be repurposed into liquefied natural gas power facilities, the ministry said.
No nuclear plant will be built in the country, barring those already under construction. Existing ones will not get extensions of their lifetimes. Accordingly, the number of nuclear power plants will reach its peak at 26 in 2024, but diminish to 17 in 2034.
In 2034, the combined nameplate capacity of nuclear power plants and coal-fired power plants will account for 25.1 percent of the nation‘s total power generation, down from 46.3 percent in 2020.
Separately, the Nuclear Promotion Commission, presided over by the prime minister, approved a government plan to spend 500 billion won ($456 million) over the next five years on nuclear decommissioning and waste management, in tandem with the country‘s nuclear phase-out policy.
By Shim Woo-hyun (
ws@heraldcorp.com)