POWER February 2014 - 14

4. A revival. In May 2013, South Korean authorities halted operations at four recently completed
nuclear units after discovering that safety-related control cabling with falsified documentation
had been installed at Shin Kori Units 1 and 2 (shown here) and Shin Wolsong Units 1 and
2. Regulators approved restart of the first three units in December 2013; Shin Wolsong Unit 2 is
still awaiting approval to start commercial operation. Courtesy: KEPCO
American Physical Society
Pushes for Reactor
Licensing Beyond 60 Years
Allowing nuclear generators to operate
some of the existing 100 U.S. nuclear reactors
longer than their 60-year licensed
limit could help offset a potentially massive
power supply gap that could ensue as
those nuclear plants begin shutting down
by the year 2030, the American Physical
Society (APS) suggests in a report released
last December.
The report notes that there are no statuunits,
Yonggwang 5 and 6 (since renamed
Hanbit 5 and 6), were taken offline to
have the parts replaced. In April 2013,
the NSSC ordered Shin Kori Units 1 and
2 (Figure 4) and Shin Wolsong Units 1
and 2 to halt operations while authorities
investigated faked safety certificates for
cabling. Startup of the newly built Shin
Wolsong 2 continues to be delayed as the
reactor has its cabling replaced. In October
2013, authorities indicted 100 people
for corruption in the scandal, including a
top former state utility official, and the
country has been struggling to restore
public confidence in nuclear power.
The government of the resource-poor
country had banked on a nuclear-heavy
energy future, calling for nuclear plants
to supply 59% of the country's power
by 2030-up from the current 25%-a
plan that called for the addition of 24
GWe of nuclear capacity. But a draft proposal
submitted to parliament by the
energy ministry in December would raise
nuclear reliance to only 29% by 2035.
That was still the higher end of a range
recommended by an energy task force
in October, the ministry pointed out. A
future with at least that much nuclear
power was critical both for energy security
reasons and to reduce carbon emissions,
it said.
The proposed goal will require South
Korea to add 45 reactors to its existing
fleet of 23 (11 are in the pipeline) within
the next two decades. The draft proposal
also foresees that electricity consumption
14
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POWER | February 2014
will double by 2035, though the government
has set a goal to reduce demand by
at least 15%, which may be achieved by
further price hikes. Starting in July, South
Korea will lower consumption taxes on
LNG but raise taxes on coal generation.
The energy basic plan will, meanwhile,
be finalized after public hearings and further
discussion with related government
agencies. For more on South Korea's energy
troubles, see " South Korea Walks an
Energy Tightrope " in POWER's November
2013 issue.
tory prohibitions against renewing nuclear
plant licenses beyond 60 years (the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission is considering
if new rules may be required for license
renewal beyond that term) and that 20year
renewal periods are currently authorized
under existing regulations. But if no
licenses are renewed beyond 60 years and
no new reactors are built to compensate,
about 100 GW-20% of the nation's power
supply-could begin shutting down by the
year 2030 and would need to be replaced
by other generating sources.
As of June 2013, 73 of 100 operating
units had been granted renewal to
60 years, though one was subsequently
closed. At least 15 units are under review,
nine units are intending to renew, and
seven will shut down, not intending to
renew (Figure 5).
" The decision to extend nuclear plant
life is both complex and urgent, " says
the nation's leading physicist organization,
whose 50,000 members hail from
academia, national laboratories, and in5.
An atomic age. By the end of 2013, at least 42 of the nation's 100 commercial operating
reactors were between 30 and 39 years of age, 37 were between 20 and 29 years of age,
and 20 reactors were more than 40 years old. This figure shows the timeframe in which current
reactor licenses are set to expire. Courtesy: NRC

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POWER February 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER February 2014