[Editorial] S.Korea needs to lead in alternative energy technologies not nuclear plant exports

Posted on : 2009-12-28 11:19 KST Modified on : 2009-12-28 11:19 KST

We are now entering an era when nuclear power plants designed, built and operated by South Korea are being exported to countries around the world. A consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) won out in the final round of competition against a French consortium for a power plant construction project commissioned by the United Arab Emirates. President Lee Myung-bak even paid a personal visit to the site in order to assist in the selection of this project, which will cost an estimated 20 billion dollars just for the design and construction alone.

This event is worthy to note in that it means Korean-developed technology is being recognized internationally for its safety. For a nuclear power plant that involves various types of high technology, safety comes before everything else, and because a nuclear power plant is a large-scale installation project, it has major economic ramifications for the entire industrial world. On these registers, nuclear power plant exportation is quite noteworthy.

However, it is every bit as meaningful to make a dispassionate appraisal of the various problems that an era of nuclear power plant exportation will bring. Primarily, in realistic terms, it is a “risk enterprise” that encompasses a number of dangers. The construction process carries with it considerable difficulties in that a variety of technologies must be combined and operated in a precise manner. If an accident should occur while in operation, however remote the chances, the blow would be unimaginably devastating. For this reason, it is dangerous for the South Korean government to encourage power plant exports as it did with industrial exports in the past.

From a long-term perspective, the exportation of nuclear power plants moreover presents the serious danger of arresting sustainable energy policy before it even has a chance to start. Ever since fossil fuels, the principal culprit behind global warming, became the subject of recent worldwide attention, the Lee administration has been emphasizing nuclear power as though it were a green energy resource. In terms of sustainability, however, nuclear power is not at all a desirable resource. Coolant escaping from the plant poses a threat of devastation to the surrounding environment, and nuclear waste endangers the health not only of this generation but also of generations to come. If all of these risks are factored in as costs, we can see what a mirage the economic feasibility of nuclear power really is.

The environment is not the only reason we should be focusing on developing alternative energy technologies such as solar or wind power instead. As of now, the advanced technology nations have yet to establish economically feasible alternative energy technology. That said, once that technology enters into practical application, it will become a means of strangling the South Korean economy. If we do not press ourselves to prepare now, there will be no way to avoid this disaster. For the sake of South Korea’s future, we need a president who encourages the development of alternative energy technologies rather than one who encourages leadership in nuclear power plant exports.

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