Renewable energy yet to fill nuclear void

An offshore wind power farm in waters near Jeju Island / Courtesy of Korea South-East Power

By Nam Hyun-woo

The government's drive to phase out nuclear power in Korea is based on the idea that solar, wind, and LNG power plants will be able to fill the energy void which will result from the lowering of the country's reliance on nuclear power.

Experts said, however, the growth of the domestic renewable energy industry remains at a tepid level and is failing to keep up with the rapid collapse of the nuclear energy industry. They warned that this may trigger an “energy vacancy” in the near future.

According to the government's third Energy Master Plan, the government will “gradually reduce” the country's reliance to nuclear power by “not extending the lifespan of old nuclear plants and not building new power plants in the future.”

To complement the energy reduction, the government plans to increase the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources to as much as 35 percent of the total by 2040.

In line with such a policy, the Moon Jae-in administration has nullified the construction of four new nuclear plants and shut down the Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor before the end of its lifespan in 2018. Also, the construction of Shin Hanul-3 and 4 plants was halted in 2017.

Given the 60-year lifespan of nuclear reactors and the final operation period of the last nuclear plant in Korea, the government say Korea will be free of nuclear power plants by 2079, claiming there is enough time for the country to “make the transition toward renewable energies.”

However, experts have issued warnings over this rosy outlook, citing Korea's high reliance on nuclear power. In the first half of 2019, nuclear power accounted for 28.8 percent of Korea's total generated power.

“The goal of 2079 means that the country has to rely on nuclear energy for the next 60 years,” said Lee Duck-hwan, a professor at Sogang University. “However, the domestic nuclear industry is collapsing much faster than initial expectations, casting doubts on whether the country can hold it for the next 60 years.”

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the total sales of nuclear equipment companies in Korea stood at 27.45 trillion won in 2016, but declined to 23.89 trillion won in 2017, with the beginning of the Moon government's post-nuclear policy.

One of the most alarming signals was the job cut announcement of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, whose main business is building boilers, turbines and power generators for nuclear plants. The company said earlier this week that it will launch a voluntary retirement program for employees older than 45, citing its deteriorating bottom line.

“If Doosan Heavy collapses, it is a death sentence for the Korean nuclear industry,” an industry official said. “If all of those nuclear experts and personnel leave the industry, who will maintain and repair the existing plants for the next 60 years?”

Casting more fear is the slow growth of the domestic renewable energy industry.

OCI, which produces polysilicon for solar cells, recently decided to stop producing the material, and its fellow Hanwha Solution also said Thursday it will abandon solar-grade polysilicon production by the end of this year. As Hanwha Solution follows OCI, there is no Korean company producing the material, dealing a heavy blow to the government's initiative to grow the solar power industry.

The situation is similar for wind power. According to data from the Korea Energy Agency, the share of Korean wind power companies in the domestic wind power generation equipment business accounted for 100 percent in 2014 but dropped sharply to 30 percent in September 2018, following the exponential growth of a competing Danish product.

During the period, large firms such as Hyundai Heavy Industries, Samsung Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering have closed their wind power businesses, while Doosan Heavy and three other companies are enduring losses to keep their businesses alive.

As big players withdraw, Korean wind power tech is lagging behind that of advanced nations.