Last year, the largest proportion of the total electricity transaction volume in South Korea was attributed to 'nuclear power'. Nuclear power has risen to the top power source for the first time in 18 years, surpassing coal. The proportion of electricity generated by nuclear power also reached its highest level in 15 years.
According to the Korea Power Exchange on the 9th, last year's electricity transaction volume was 549,387 GWh (gigawatt-hours). In terms of the proportion by major power source, nuclear power was the highest at 32.5%, followed by ▲ LNG (29.8%), ▲ coal (29.4%), and ▲ renewable energy (6.9%).
In particular, the proportion of nuclear power generation last year was the highest in 15 years since 2009 (34.8%). Nuclear power became the largest power source for the first time in 18 years since 2006. From 2007 to 2023, coal has consistently been South Korea's largest power source.
The proportion of nuclear power generation maintained levels in the 40% range until the mid-2000s, before falling to the 30% range as the proportions of LNG and renewable energy generation increased. Subsequently, during the administration of Moon Jae-in, which pursued energy policies aimed at reducing reliance on nuclear power and rapidly increasing the share of renewable energy, it dropped to 23.7% in 2018, but under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, which pledged to 'discard the nuclear phase-out', the proportion has shown a trend of rising back to the 30% range.
The increase in the proportion of nuclear power generation last year is analyzed to be due to the addition of one new nuclear reactor and an increase in the overall operational rate of nuclear power plants. In April of last year, Shin Hanul Unit 2 began commercial operation, bringing the total operational nuclear reactors in South Korea to 26. Additionally, according to a survey by the Korea Atomic Industrial Forum (KAIF), the average utilization rate of nuclear power last year was 83.8%, the highest in nine years since 2015. This indicates that more electricity was produced from the same reactors.
Compared to the previous year, the proportions of nuclear power, LNG, and renewable energy increased by 1.0 percentage points (p), 1.6 p, and 0.7 p, respectively. Conversely, in terms of carbon neutrality transition efforts aimed at suppressing coal usage, the proportion of coal decreased by 3.5%, marking a significant decline. Although it falls under the same category of thermal power generation, LNG, which emits less carbon than coal and is sometimes classified as clean energy, surpassed coal generation for the first time last year at 29.8%.
If the government's plans are followed, South Korea's proportion of nuclear power generation is expected to increase further with the sequential addition of new nuclear reactors. Currently, a total of 26 nuclear reactors are in operation in the country. Once the construction of the Shin-Wool Unit 3 and 4, which are nearing completion, and the Shin Hanul Units 3 and 4, which began construction last year, are completed, a total of 30 reactors are expected to be operational.
The government also aims to include the construction plan for two additional nuclear power plants in the 11th Basic Plan for Power Supply and Demand. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently submitted a revised draft of the 11th Basic Plan for Power Supply and Demand to the National Assembly, projecting that by 2038, the proportions of nuclear power and renewable energy in the generation mix will be 35.1% and 29.2%, respectively, based on the premise of adding two nuclear plants.