Nuclear plant siting and renewable energy targets also off the table; forum to focus on future role and share of nuclear power

Minister of Climate, Environment and Energy Kim Sung-hwan announces a three-month public deliberation process on nuclear power for stable electricity supply at the Government Complex Seoul annex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Sept. 22. [Yonhap]
Minister of Climate, Environment and Energy Kim Sung-hwan announces a three-month public deliberation process on nuclear power for stable electricity supply at the Government Complex Seoul annex in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Sept. 22. [Yonhap]

A public deliberation process on nuclear power, convened to inform the drafting of the country's basic electricity supply plan, will not take up questions such as whether to extend the operating lives of reactors that have reached their design lifespan, the selection of specific plant sites, or whether to build reactors on sites already secured.

Nuclear plant siting and the government's renewable energy supply targets will also be kept off the agenda, with discussions to focus instead on the role and share of nuclear power in meeting future electricity demand.

The Nuclear Power Deliberation Committee for the Basic Electricity Plan held its second meeting Wednesday at the Power Infrastructure Center in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, and announced Thursday that it had set the deliberation topics and a list of issues that would not be discussed.

The government is pursuing continued operation of 10 reactors that will reach their design lifespan by 2030, but only Unit 2 of the Kori nuclear power plant has so far received approval for continued operation.

Calls have grown for faster reviews of life-extension applications to ensure power supply for three major megaprojects, even as environmental groups continue to oppose continued operation.

When the government announced it would proceed with the nuclear power forum, attention turned to whether the life-extension question would be included in the deliberations.

The "reactors on already-secured sites" that the committee decided to exclude from deliberation refer to two large reactors and one small modular reactor slated for construction under the current 11th Basic Electricity Plan.

The committee also decided to keep nuclear plant siting and the government's renewable energy supply targets off the deliberation agenda.

The main theme of the deliberation was set as "What kind of electricity will we live on in the future?"

The subtheme is "The role and share of nuclear power in meeting future electricity demand." The committee also finalized its operating rules at the second meeting, having first discussed them at its inaugural session, and agreed to form a panel of up to 10 experts to prepare deliberation materials — including a briefing document — for citizen participants. To that end, it plans to solicit expert nominations from environmental groups and nuclear energy organizations before its next meeting.


oskymoon@heraldcorp.com