South Korea Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry said that the government has abandoned proposal to construct four coal-fired power plants.
Part of state-run utility Korea Electric Power, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power currently operates 23 nuclear reactors, and plans to construct another 11 units.
Reuters cited the ministry as saying that the two nuclear plants will be commissioned in 2028 and 2029, respectively.
With the latest plan, South Korea will have 36 nuclear reactors by 2029, which will represent 28.5% of its power generation capacity.
The plan comes as the domestic electricity usage is estimated to increase by an average of 2.2% annually reaching 656,883GWh in 2029, reported Yonhap News Agency.
The country develops a basic plan every two years to prioritize and set the ratio of energy sources mixture.
Expected to be finalized this month, the seventh basic plan is in line with the country’s Post 2020 Climate Change Mitigation Commitments, a new initiative proposed by United Nations.
Later this month, Seoul will take a decision to continue operations of Kori No.1 power plant beyond its current expiry date of 2017. The country has already extended the lifespan of Busan reactor by 10 years.
Image: South Korea estimates electricity usage to increase by an average of 2.2% annually over next 15 years. Photo: courtesy of xedos4 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
