South Korea unveils 14-year plan to shift from thermal to renewables

It envisions the closure of nuclear power units from 26 to 17.

South Korea has unveiled a long-term energy plan for 2020-2034 in shifting from thermal and nuclear power generation to renewable energies.

The plan aims to raise the share of renewables in the power capacities from the current 15% to 40% by 2034, whilst keeping the share of LNG-fired power plants from around 31-32% and closing all the expiring coal-fired power plants.

South Korea currently has 60 coal-fired power plants accounting for more than a fourth of total power generation in 2019. Half of the operational coal-fired power plants would be concerned by the 30-year closure conditions. The government plans to convert 24 of them to LNG to avoid any power shortage, as the peak demand should increase by an average 1% per year to reach 104GW in 2034.

The 2020-2034 plan also envisions the closure of some nuclear power units from 26 in 2024 to 17 in 2034, which would reduce the share of nuclear in South Korea's power capacity from 19% to 10% by 2034.

This article was originally published by Enerdata.