South Korea plans to build four more nuclear reactors by 2030 and extend the life of 10 older units, as the new government backs atomic power as a key tool to achieving net zero emissions.
Atomic energy will provide more than 30 percent of the nation’s electricity generation by the end of the decade, up from 27.4 percent last year, the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said yesterday.
The ministry did not break down targets for the rest of the energy mix.
Photo: EPA-EFE
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office in May, was a staunch supporter of nuclear energy throughout his presidential campaign, saying it should be utilized along with renewable sources to achieve emissions targets.
While the country is maintaining the emissions goal set by the previous government, the ministry yesterday said that renewable energy’s share would be “adjusted” from 30 percent under the old roadmap and that a detailed plan would be formed in the fourth quarter.
Under the administration of former South Korean president Moon Jae-in, decarbonization policies were set out along with plans to phase out nuclear energy, a policy that Yoon’s office in April said could see electricity costs jump fivefold by 2050.
The construction of the Shin Hanul No. 3 and 4 reactors, which were scrapped under the previous government, will be resumed, the ministry said.
Separately, South Korea will expand its strategic reserves for oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a bid to increase price stability, the ministry said in a statement yesterday.
Crude stockpiles would increase to more than 100 million barrels by 2025, from 96.5 million barrels currently, while LNG reserves would rise to 18.4 million kiloliters by 2034 from 13.7 million, it said.
The nation will also continue to diversify its oil and gas supplies by reducing its dependence on the Middle East, and push for more direct LNG imports by private companies, the ministry said.
South Korea’s inflation hit its fastest clip since late 1998 last month, outstripping forecasts again and keeping pressure on the Bank of Korea (BOK) to consider an outsized interest-rate hike next week.
Consumer prices advanced 6 percent from a year earlier, quickening from growth of 5.4 percent in May, the statistics office reported yesterday.
That was the fastest pace since November 1998 when prices rose 6.8 percent.
While the BOK started raising rates last summer, before many of its peers, speculation is growing that it would also opt for a larger rate increase of a half percentage point at its meeting on Wednesday next week.
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