The "Energy 3 Laws" aimed at expanding the power grid for advanced industries passed the National Assembly's Trade, Industry, Energy Committee on the 19th. The main point is for the government to establish a system to support national power grid expansion to assist industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), which require large-scale power. Since it was addressed through bipartisan agreement, it is expected to pass the National Assembly's plenary session within this month.
The Industry Committee held a full meeting on that morning and voted on the ▲Special Law on National Power Grid Expansion ▲Special Law on Management of High-Level Radioactive Waste ▲Special Law on Promoting Offshore Wind Power.
The Special Law on National Power Grid Expansion simplifies the approval process for the installation of transmission lines for advanced industries like AI. When establishing implementation plans related to the national power grid, local government heads must gather residents' opinions and respond within "60 days," and if this period passes, it is considered that the consultation has been completed.
This aims to prevent delays in projects during the public opinion gathering process. However, there are still concerns that the period is excessively short to adequately reflect the opinions of local residents. In particular, in areas such as Jeongeup and Wanju in North Jeolla Province, residents are strongly opposing the installation plans for transmission lines.
The Special Law on High-Level Radioactive Waste is designed to establish permanent disposal facilities for used nuclear fuel generated during the operation of nuclear power plants. Until now, due to inadequate legal provisions, high-risk nuclear waste has been stored in temporary storage facilities. It has been nine years since the first discussions began in the National Assembly in 2016. In particular, this is expected to accelerate the construction of temporary and intermediate storage facilities and permanent disposal sites at the Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant in Yeonggwang, which is projected to reach saturation in its used fuel storage pools by 2030.
The Special Law on Offshore Wind Power simplifies the approval process for wind power projects. To expand offshore wind power in response to the climate crisis, environmental impact assessments have been omitted, and the approval process has been shortened. However, there are criticisms that this encourages the privatization of offshore wind power. Concerns exist that if regulations are relaxed to speed up projects, the public nature of the renewable energy industry will be undermined, leading to exacerbated indiscriminate development. In contrast, the National Assembly believes that the government planning the sites for offshore wind power generation will resolve the issue of private indiscriminate development.
Relatedly, Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ji-hye noted, "While processing the Energy 3 Laws, the members of the Industry Committee received many protest messages from the public," adding, "Residents living near power grids or power plant areas are very concerned about the impacts on the environment and local communities." She continued, "The government should take this matter seriously and listen to opposing opinions during the opinion-gathering process and faithfully reflect them in subordinate regulations."