To Attain Carbon Neutrality by 2050
Experts point out that the South Korean government needs to change its nuclear phase-out policy in order to attain its carbon neutrality goal by 2050 and the means of power generation preferred by the government may not be as economical as it thinks.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration recently calculated levelized costs of energy for 2022, which reflect external costs related to environmental pollution, stability, post-construction management and so on as well as construction, fuel and operating costs. According to its calculations, the cost of wind power generation is US$52.2, and it is US$56.5, US$66.8, US$99.1 and US$140 for gas-combined, solar, nuclear and coal-based, respectively.
The South Korean government recently declared that it would achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 by absorption of emitted carbon dioxide. The current annual carbon emissions of South Korea are approximately 700 million tons. Details on how and where to do so are to be discussed later.
“Given the current circumstances, South Korea should maintain at least some nuclear power generation for its goal,” one of the experts advised, adding, “The realization of carbon neutrality depends on whether stable power supply is possible while reducing coal-fired power generation, and the reality is that renewable energy sources such as solar power are not enough to completely replace coal in terms of the stability of power generation, power generation costs, etc.”