S. Korea saw record-high nuclear power generation last year

Last year, South Korea’s nuclear power plants generated record-high nuclear power. The proportion of energy generated from nuclear power plants was the highest in six years, which is equivalent to that of the pre-nuclear phase-out policy of the former Moon Jae -in administration.

According to KEPCO's “December Electric Power Statistics Month” on Tuesday, last year's annual nuclear power generation was 176,054 GWh (Gigawatt hours), up 11.4% from the previous year (158,015 GWh). This is the first time that nuclear power generation has exceeded 170,000 GWh, which is more than 10,000 GWh from the previous highest amount (164,762 GWh) recorded in 2015.

Nuclear power plants accounted for 29.6% of the total power generation (594,392 GWh), the highest since 2016 (30.0%). The proportion of nuclear power plants remained at an average of 30% by 2016. However, after falling to 26.8% in 2017, the first year of the Moon Jae-in administration, it was 23.4% in 2018, 25.9% in 2019, 29.0% in 2020, and 27.4% in 2021.

Nuclear plant-generated power purchased from Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power by KEPCO last year was at a record level of 167,102 GWh. The nuclear power generation unit price was 52.6 won per annual average of 1 kWh (Kilowatt Hour), which was lower than last year, compared to bituminous coal (158.0 won), anthracite coal (202.7 won), and liquefied natural gas (LNG 240.5 won).

The government is trying to increase the number of nuclear power plants to stabilize energy security and power supply. Last year, following Hanul-1, Hanbit-2 and 3, Gori-2, and Wolseong-3, which completed the planning and preventive maintenance, Shin-Hanul-1 will contribute to the expansion of nuclear power plants. The government has decided to increase the proportion of nuclear power plants to 32.4% by 2030 through the 10th Basic Plan for Power Supply.


kalssam35@donga.com