New nuclear power capacity will be needed in South Korea, according to a 15-year plan published by the government.
From the link…
According to the latest plan, South Korea’s demand for electricity will increase by an annual average 1.8% between 2024 and 2038, to reach 129.3 GW by 2038 - an increase of more than 30% from 2023.
Under the draft plan, the portion of carbon-free energy sources in the country’s energy mix will increase from about 40% in 2023 to 70% by 2038. It says nuclear power generation is expected to grow from 180.5 TWh in 2023 to 248.3 TWh in 2038. The portion of nuclear power generation will grow from 30.7% in 2023 to 35.2% in 2038. The country’s 26 reactors currently provide about one-third of its electricity.
New nuclear generation, in the form of existing large designs, as well as SMRs, are included.
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Japan will also increase its use of nuclear power. Japan still has many plants idled since the 2011 Fukushima earthquake and tsunami. Most of those will need to be restarted. There are also plans to add new generation in the latest report.
Adopted on Tuesday by the cabinet, the 7th Basic Energy Plan calls for nuclear electricity generation to increase from 8.5% in fiscal 2023 to about 20% in fiscal 2040. Renewable energy’s share of total electricity production, meanwhile, is expected to increase from 22.9% to 40%-50%, with fossil fuels’ share dropping from almost 69% to 30%-40%.
Also…
In February 2023, Japan’s Cabinet approved a policy to allow new nuclear power reactors to be constructed and the operation of existing reactors to be extended from 40 to 60 years.
Finally…
“In order to utilise nuclear power as a decarbonised power source, we will work on the development and installation of next-generation innovative reactors that incorporate new safety mechanisms, aiming to improve the safety of nuclear power.”
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Japan still relies on fossil fuels for most of its power generation. Below is the 2023 electricity mix from the IEA.
2023 Japan Electricity, percent of each source Natural Gas: 32% Coal: 28.5 Solar: 10 Hydro: 9 Nuclear: 8.5 Biomass: 3.4 Oil: 3.1 Other: ~5
_ Pete