By John Burton
Are Koreans willing to pay more for a cleaner planet? That is the challenge the country faces as its struggles with the dilemma of delivering cheap energy while generating more clean energy.
Under its latest energy plan, the government wants to increase the use of more expensive renewable energy from nearly 8 percent to between 30 percent and 35 percent by 2040. But at the same time, the Moon administration does not want to increase electricity rates for households to prevent an increase in living costs.
The two goals appear to be irreconcilable. Something has to give.
The only realistic option is to persuade the public to accept higher electricity fees to promote the use of renewables, while encouraging people to reduce energy consumption.
As it is, Koreans now enjoy much lower electricity rates than those in many other developed countries, including Germany, France, Spain, the U.K., Italy, the U.S. and Japan. Some of these countries, such as Germany, Spain and Italy, already have a high reliance on renewable sources in their energy mix, approaching 40 percent.
Low utility rates lead to increased energy demand, which not only poses a threat to the environment due to higher CO2 emissions, but also complicates the transition away from cheap but dirty fossil fuels such as coal to cleaner energy sources such as natural gas.
The Moon administration has further complicated the situation with its pledge to phase out nuclear power. Although there are some environmental problems associated with nuclear power, such as the storage of nuclear waste, it is also one of the cleanest sources of energy as well as one of the most cost-effective. Abandoning nuclear power undermines the economic feasibility of any green energy program.
It is a key reason why President Moon Jae-in's two predecessors, Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, wanted to increase Korea's reliance on nuclear power to around a third of all energy sources by 2035.
Moon's anti-nuclear policy is contributing to mounting losses at KEPCO, the state-run power company. It is being forced by the government to rely on the use of costly renewable energy sources such as natural gas while facing political pressure not to raise rates significantly.
KEPCO has already tried to stem losses by raising electricity rates sharply over the last several years for industrial users, which once enjoyed substantially lower fees than households because it was cheaper to deliver power to them on a massive scale. Critics claim the utility hikes have made the industry less competitive.
There are indications that the Moon administration may be quietly reversing its anti-nuclear stance given growing public opposition to the nuclear phaseout and as the government faces tough parliamentary elections next year.
Of Korea's 25 nuclear plants, the government has closed two so far. Another seven are expected to be taken out of service by 2029. But five new reactors are expected to go online by 2024, although at least four other planned plants have been canceled.
The new additions will actually increase Korea's nuclear generation capacity since they produce more power than the older plants being withdrawn from service. Nuclear's share of electricity production, however, will fall below 30 percent due to the shift to other renewable energy sources.
Public support for nuclear power could rise further if tensions in the Middle East, such as a conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, lead to price spikes for natural gas. Nuclear power would be seen as promoting energy security for Korea.
A conservative victory in the 2020 parliamentary elections and the 2022 presidential election could also lead to renewed government support for nuclear power since both the Liberty Korea Party and Bareunmirae Party are in favor of it.
The two political parties were behind a public petition campaign to resume construction of two nuclear reactors (Shin Hanul reactors 3 and 4) that have been suspended by the Moon administration. The government has already bowed to public pressure to proceed with construction of another two reactors (Shin Kori reactors 5 and 6) that it initially blocked.
In an ironic twist, North Korea may be in a better position than South Korea to achieve a clean energy profile. While dirty coal is one main source of its energy production, more than half of its energy comes from hydropower, which is a clean energy source. Taking advantage of its mountainous terrain, North Korea has embarked on an ambitious plan to build large hydroelectric power stations, supplemented by smaller regional dams.
Although Pyongyang told last month's U.N. Climate Action Summit that it was aiming for a 16 percent cut in C02 emissions by 2030, it may, however, have trouble achieving that goal. Continued droughts and engineering setbacks threatened to reduce hydroelectric output, while U.N. sanctions are forcing North Korea to use more coal for its energy needs since it cannot export it to China.
John Burton (johnburtonft@yahoo.com), a former Korea correspondent for the Financial Times, is now a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and consultant.
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Under its latest energy plan, the government wants to increase the use of more expensive renewable energy from nearly 8 percent to between 30 percent and 35 percent by 2040. But at the same time, the Moon administration does not want to increase electricity rates for households to prevent an increase in living costs.
The two goals appear to be irreconcilable. Something has to give.
The only realistic option is to persuade the public to accept higher electricity fees to promote the use of renewables, while encouraging people to reduce energy consumption.
As it is, Koreans now enjoy much lower electricity rates than those in many other developed countries, including Germany, France, Spain, the U.K., Italy, the U.S. and Japan. Some of these countries, such as Germany, Spain and Italy, already have a high reliance on renewable sources in their energy mix, approaching 40 percent.
Low utility rates lead to increased energy demand, which not only poses a threat to the environment due to higher CO2 emissions, but also complicates the transition away from cheap but dirty fossil fuels such as coal to cleaner energy sources such as natural gas.
The Moon administration has further complicated the situation with its pledge to phase out nuclear power. Although there are some environmental problems associated with nuclear power, such as the storage of nuclear waste, it is also one of the cleanest sources of energy as well as one of the most cost-effective. Abandoning nuclear power undermines the economic feasibility of any green energy program.
It is a key reason why President Moon Jae-in's two predecessors, Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, wanted to increase Korea's reliance on nuclear power to around a third of all energy sources by 2035.
Moon's anti-nuclear policy is contributing to mounting losses at KEPCO, the state-run power company. It is being forced by the government to rely on the use of costly renewable energy sources such as natural gas while facing political pressure not to raise rates significantly.
KEPCO has already tried to stem losses by raising electricity rates sharply over the last several years for industrial users, which once enjoyed substantially lower fees than households because it was cheaper to deliver power to them on a massive scale. Critics claim the utility hikes have made the industry less competitive.
There are indications that the Moon administration may be quietly reversing its anti-nuclear stance given growing public opposition to the nuclear phaseout and as the government faces tough parliamentary elections next year.
Of Korea's 25 nuclear plants, the government has closed two so far. Another seven are expected to be taken out of service by 2029. But five new reactors are expected to go online by 2024, although at least four other planned plants have been canceled.
The new additions will actually increase Korea's nuclear generation capacity since they produce more power than the older plants being withdrawn from service. Nuclear's share of electricity production, however, will fall below 30 percent due to the shift to other renewable energy sources.
Public support for nuclear power could rise further if tensions in the Middle East, such as a conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, lead to price spikes for natural gas. Nuclear power would be seen as promoting energy security for Korea.
A conservative victory in the 2020 parliamentary elections and the 2022 presidential election could also lead to renewed government support for nuclear power since both the Liberty Korea Party and Bareunmirae Party are in favor of it.
The two political parties were behind a public petition campaign to resume construction of two nuclear reactors (Shin Hanul reactors 3 and 4) that have been suspended by the Moon administration. The government has already bowed to public pressure to proceed with construction of another two reactors (Shin Kori reactors 5 and 6) that it initially blocked.
In an ironic twist, North Korea may be in a better position than South Korea to achieve a clean energy profile. While dirty coal is one main source of its energy production, more than half of its energy comes from hydropower, which is a clean energy source. Taking advantage of its mountainous terrain, North Korea has embarked on an ambitious plan to build large hydroelectric power stations, supplemented by smaller regional dams.
Although Pyongyang told last month's U.N. Climate Action Summit that it was aiming for a 16 percent cut in C02 emissions by 2030, it may, however, have trouble achieving that goal. Continued droughts and engineering setbacks threatened to reduce hydroelectric output, while U.N. sanctions are forcing North Korea to use more coal for its energy needs since it cannot export it to China.
John Burton (johnburtonft@yahoo.com), a former Korea correspondent for the Financial Times, is now a Washington, D.C.-based journalist and consultant.
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