Seoul has drastically reduced its long-term target for nuclear power generation, adding to the pressure on the South Korean nuclear industry amid a major corruption scandal.
Nuclear energy has long been a core means of electricity generation in the country, and its contribution was planned to increase from 26 per cent of total supply last year to 41 per cent in 2030, under official plans. However, that goal was lowered to 29 per cent under the government’s new energy plan, which sets out targets to be implemented by 2035.
Nuclear power has been touted as a key national asset by the South Korean government, which brokered a $20.4bn contract in 2009 for a consortium to build four nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates. Seoul’s ambitious plans to expand electricity supply over the coming decades mean that, even with the reduced target, nuclear capacity will rise to 43GW in 2035 from 21GW at the end of 2012.
But nuclear power’s reduced share of the future energy mix reflects increased popular opposition to nuclear power following Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi disaster almost three years ago, as well as recent allegations of large-scale corruption in South Korea’s domestic nuclear sector.
Last year three of the country’s 23 nuclear reactors were shut down after investigators found that safety certificates had been forged for thousands of components – in many cases, allegedly, because of bribes paid to nuclear plant designers.
The chief executive of Kepco, the national electricity company that is the monopoly provider of nuclear power, resigned as the scandal gathered pace in November 2012.
The revelations have thrown the spotlight on a tightly knit domestic industry that some local media dubbed the “nuclear mafia”, and raised fears of power cuts as energy usage surged last summer.
“The public has totally lost trust in nuclear power,” said Suh Kyun-ryul, a professor of atomic engineering at Seoul National University. But he added that the new energy plan would force the country’s electricity system to rely even more heavily on imported fossil fuels: something that would impose economic costs and reduce national energy security.
South Korea’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels for energy made it one of the top 10 global emitters of carbon dioxide, according to a 2010 World Bank report. But it has almost no reserves of these fuels on its territory, forcing it to turn to foreign supplies of commodities such as liquefied natural gas, of which it is the world’s second-biggest importer.
The energy ministry will reveal the targets for other forms of generation by the end of 2014, a spokesman said. The ministry also noted that the revised target was at the top end of a range of 22 to 29 per cent recommended by an expert panel in October, and that the new plan will still involve adding 7GW to the existing nuclear generation capacity of 36GW. The increase in nuclear capacity showed its important role in preserving energy security and industrial competitiveness, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the ministry said.
Despite Seoul’s efforts to present a show of confidence in its nuclear power sector, the domestic scandals threaten South Korea’s efforts to win contracts for building plants abroad, said Lee Won-hee, a researcher at Samsung Economic Research Institute.
A consortium led by Kepco subsidiary KHNP is waiting to hear whether it has won a tender to build a reactor in Finland, while Seoul is also hoping to win similar contracts in Turkey, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.
Thani Al Zeyoudi, an energy official at the UAE’s foreign ministry, said during a visit to South Korea in October that the country was not perturbed by the South Korean nuclear scandal. The UAE was confident that its own protocols would guarantee the safety of the new reactors, he said.
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