- The government of South Korea has revealed that it will accelerate nuclear power while lowering its activities on renewables.
- The new plan has nuclear energy take a generation share of 32.4% in 2030 and 34.6% in 2036.
The government of South Korea, led by President Yoon Suk-Yeol, has revealed that it will accelerate nuclear power while lowering its activities on renewables. This was decided in the recent power mix agreement towards ensuring stable electricity while reducing CO2 emissions towards 2036.
Under the country’s 10th Basic Plan for Long-Term ELectricity Supply and Demand, it was revealed that the amount of renewables in total production is set at 21.6% in 2030 and 30.6% in 2036. Last week, this was revealed by the ministry of trade, industry and energy (MOTIE).
The new share for renewables for 2030 would now be lower compared to the 30.2% established in the 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) plan released in 2022. However, MOTIE has revealed that its new plan still increases the number of renewables for 2030 if compared to the 9th electricity plan, with a share of 20.8% for renewables.
But the same plan, which was prepared by the administration of former president Moon Jae-in in 2020, increased the renewables capacity to 40% while reducing nuclear power as part of a gradual phase-out.
The new plan has nuclear energy take a generation share of 32.4% in 2030 and 34.6% in 2036.
MOTIE releases electricity plans every two to four years as a roadmap showing which power sources will be prioritised in that planning period. The latest plan considers a gradual reduction of fossil fuel generation, but the combined share of coal and LNG is still set at nearly 43% in 2030 and close to 24% in 2036.