Tag: nuclear energy

I don’t care how many windmills you make, it will never equal the energy output that nuclear power can generate. It seems more and more countries are realizing this especially as the world turns more to electric cars:

 Main opposition presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol on Monday vowed to scrap the current Moon Jae-in government’s nuclear phase-out policy, saying he will make South Korea a powerhouse in nuclear power generation. 

“I will recover the ecosystem of nuclear power generation and advance safe nuclear technologies so that they can become a core engine to drive the country,” Yoon of the People Power Party wrote on his Facebook page. 

Yoon emphasized that it is a global trend to use nuclear power generation along with other energy sources to reduce carbon and lessen the dependence on foreign countries for energy, adding that even the European Union Taxonomy recently labeled nuclear power as green energy. 

“French President (Emmanuel) Macron reversed his words of ‘nuclear-phase out’ five years ago and declared ‘U-turn to nuclear power,'” Yoon said. “After nuclear phase-out, Italy lost its energy power and became a country that imports the most electricity in Europe.”

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It is a bit ironic that the Moon administration is relying on nuclear energy to meet the need for increased power supply from the summer heat when they have long claimed they want to do away with nuclear power:

The government is trying to stabilize the nation’s power supply by getting nuclear reactors back into operation.    
   
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday that the Shin Kori unit 4 reactor, which was closed for maintenance, will be back in operation July 21, a week earlier than planned.    
   
Shin Wolsong unit 1 reactor, which had its start date moved up a month to July 18, will reach its full capacity of 1,000 megawatts by July 21.    
   
The Wolsong unit 3 reactor, which was shut for maintenance, will go back into operation on schedule on July 23.  
   
The three reactors will be contributing 2,150 additional megawatt of energy this week.    

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but like I have always said windmills and solar panels are not going to power a modern, industrial economy.

It is ironic that the Korean left that used a dubious tablet PC to take down the last Presidential administration is claiming these reactor papers are all lies by the political opposition:

The ruling bloc is going all out to defend itself against escalating suspicions that the Moon Jae-in administration attempted to initiate the construction of a nuclear power plant in North Korea in 2018. 

Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are lashing out at the main opposition People Party of Korea (PPP) for raising the allegations ahead of the April 7 mayoral by-elections for Seoul and Busan, claiming it was re-engaging in the politics of “northern winds” often used by conservatives during election season.

President Moon called on the political circle to refrain from outdated political wrangling, in response to the rising calls from the opposition to clarify exactly whether there was any mention of a nuclear plant building project during his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Panmunjeom in April 2018. 

“At a time when the people are already struggling (from the coronavirus pandemic), we should not instigate conflict and make politics regress through outdated tactics. I urge the political circle to find better ways to cooperate in improving the peoples’ lives,” Moon said during a meeting with senior aides at Cheong Wa Dae, Monday.

Korea Times

The Moon administration is even threatening to take legal action against people criticizing the administration because of the reactor papers. We know this administration has a long track record of jailing journalists and now they may even try and jail a politician:

The presidential office said it would consider taking legal action immediately after PPP interim leader Kim Chong-in remarked Jan. 29 that the ruling bloc’s actions were “benefiting the North” when he first raised the suspicion about the nuclear power plant project. “It is a reckless political offensive meant to delude the people,” a senior presidential aide said Monday.

You can read more at the link.

It is pretty amazing that the Moon administration wants to build a nuclear power plant in North Korea while trying to close down nuclear power plants in South Korea:

 A political controversy appears to be brewing over the Seoul government’s possible attempt years ago to help North Korea build a nuclear power plant, after a local broadcaster on Thursday disclosed the existence of relevant government documents.

SBS TV, citing prosecutors investigating the destruction of government documents related to the closure of an aging nuclear reactor by some officials of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in 2019, reported that a number of files on inter-Korean energy cooperation, including the planned construction of a nuclear plant in the North, were among the deleted documents.

Last month, prosecutors in the central city of Daejeon indicted three energy ministry officials on charges of destroying 530 kinds of computer documents linked to the closure of Wolsong-1, the country’s second-oldest nuclear reactor, right before the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) requested the submission of the documents in December 2019.

The BAI had opened an audit into the closure of Wolsong-1, in southeastern South Korea, as it emerged as a hot-button issue after President Moon Jae-in decided in 2017 to phase out nuclear power generation in line with his energy policy.

According to the bill of their indictments, disclosed by the broadcaster, the deleted computer documents, recovered later by BAI officials, contained numerous files on plans to build a nuclear power plant in North Korea and other inter-Korean energy cooperation projects.

Notably, the deleted documents included reports titled “North Korean nuclear power plant construction implementation plan” and “Inter-Korean economic cooperation experts in energy field,” which were produced from May 2-15, 2018, and stored under the folder title of “pohjois,” a Finnish word meaning north.

Moon’s first and second summit meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were held in late April and late May, respectively, of the same year.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

#SouthKorea has no oil & nuclear energy produced about 30% of energy needs. Then #MoonJaein announced nuclear energy exit, which let to blackouts, increased coal & gas imports, reduced nuclear science majors/scientists, stopped SK from further nucl energy export, raised costs… https://t.co/vfk0ycrdMr

— Tara O (@DrTaraO) December 25, 2018

Oleg Shcheka takes a look at the risks involved with the civilian side of the #DPRK nuclear program, and whether sacrificing safety for construction speed may lead to unintended disasterhttps://t.co/xJTPom5tGq

— 38 North (@38NorthNK) April 19, 2018

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (4th from L, front) and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (6th from L) of Abu Dhabi, join a group photo with South Korean officials and workers during a ceremony at a nuclear power station in Barakah, about 300 km west of the United Arab Emirates’ capital, on March 26, 2018, to mark the completion of a nuclear reactor built by South Korea. It is the first out of four reactors South Korea plans to provide the UAE under a 2009 deal that marked South Korea’s first exports of nuclear reactors. (Yonhap)

President Moon showing his political skills was able to have his cake and eat it to when it came to back tracking from his campaign pledge to stop construction of nuclear reactors in Korea:

President Moon Jae-in vowed to enhance the safety of nuclear reactors Sunday, accepting the recent recommendation by a public debate commission to resume the construction of two new nuclear reactors that he earlier promised to scrap.

“The government will quickly resume the construction of the Shin Kori-5 and Shin Kori-6 nuclear reactors in accordance with the outcome of the debate,” the president said in a statement released by the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.

The remarks came two days after the state commission, following its three-month deliberation process, recommended the two unfinished nuclear reactors be completed and put in operation.

The public debate began in July after the president agreed to first find out what the general public wished to do with the two new nuclear reactors whose construction already began in 2016.

Moon urged his supporters, as well as those who are in favor of building a nuclear energy-free nation, to accept the outcome of the public review that involved 471 citizens and experts representing both sides.

“I believe democracy becomes perfect when people have the right to discuss, and when they accept the outcome of such discussions. I also ask those who supported my election pledge to halt the construction to respect and accept the public debate commission’s recommendation,” the chief executive said.

The president said the government will instead work to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants, noting the Shin Kori reactors in Uljin will put the total number of reactors in the southeastern part of the country to 15, with millions of people to be within a 30-kilometer radius of these facilities.  [Yonhap]

You can read more at the link, but my concern about nuclear reactors in South Korea is how resilient are they to missile attack from North Korea? I really hope that was considered when these plants were built.  I also wonder what the impact is to the power grid if these plants have to be shut down in response to a possible crisis with North Korea?  How many people will be without power?  Are there enough back generators for hospitals and other key facilities if this was to happen?  Hopefully someone in the ROK government has thought these issues through.