Solar energy spread throughout the country, spending only 19 trillion … Electricity production is 4 trillion and 1 unit of nuclear power plant

Princess = Reporter Kim Beom-jun [email protected]

An estimated 19 trillion won have been invested to build commercial solar power plants at more than 60,000 locations across the country over the past five years and eight months. However, the electricity produced by these solar power plants was found to be at the level of a nuclear power plant in Shin-Kori Unit 4, costing less than 4 trillion won. As the efficiency of solar energy turned out to be so low, voices are gaining momentum that the government should not rely on solar energy for carbon neutrality by 2050 and that policy revisions are inevitable to maintain nuclear power plants. .

According to Representative Yoon Young-seok and the Korea Energy Agency on the 14th, the construction cost of 6,632 commercial solar power plants that were built from 2015 to the end of last August was estimated at 18,861.7 billion won. The annual cost of solar construction, which was around 2 trillion won until 2017, jumped to 3.3476 billion won in 2018, a year after the government declared a nuclear power plant. It is showing a sharp increase to 4.9053 trillion won last year and 52.2 trillion won at the end of August this year.

The area occupied by solar panels installed for 5 years and 8 months was estimated at 61.2 ㎢ and the area of ​​the power plant at 157.5 ㎢. The solar power installations covered the land exceeding the area named ‘Gangnam 4-gu’ (144.9㎢), such as Gangdong-gu, Songpa-gu, Seocho-gu, Seoul, etc. The electricity produced by solar energy was 922,000 ㎾h as of August this year, similar to that of Shin-Kori 4 (875,000 ㎾h), the last nuclear power plant. The construction cost of Shin-Kori Unit 4 is KRW 3.786 trillion, and the site is only 0.45 km2.

Experts note that inefficiency is increasing by forcibly expanding solar power with a low “cost-performance ratio” while pursuing nuclear power plant policy. According to the government plan, to cancel the construction of Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 and replace them with solar energy, it was analyzed that at least twice the area of ​​Bun-Nun city would have to be installed again with solar energy.

Professor Joo Han-gyu, from the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Seoul National University, said: “The government’s ‘carbon neutrality 2050’ goal cannot be achieved with sunlight alone.”

Solar energy exposed to extreme inefficiency … Construction cost is 5 times higher than nuclear power plant, 2 times the cost of power generation
A survey on the economic viability of 6,632 solar power plants nationwide …

Shin-Kori Unit 4, which began operating in earnest in September last year, is the world’s highest-performing nuclear power plant built by Korea. A total of 3.786.5 billion won was spent to build the nuclear power plant, employee housing, and transmission and distribution facilities. This nuclear power plant produced 8,751 trillion ㎾h of electricity at the end of August this year. During the same period, the amount of money invested in solar energy that produced similar energy (92.21.18 million ㎾h) to Shin-Kori Unit 4 is 5 times higher than 18.861.8 billion won. in 5 years and 8 months. Additionally, the cost of producing solar power last year was 99.98 won per hr, almost double that of nuclear power plants (58.31 won per hr).

That is why sunlight is evaluated as the extreme of inefficiency in a terrain like Korea. This is the result of a comprehensive survey of 6,632 commercial solar power plants completed after 2015 by the Korean Economic Daily commissioned by the National Branch of the Yoon Young-seok People’s Office.

Solar power drop ‘cost performance’

In terms of the theoretical maximum amount of electricity (equipment capacity) that can be produced, 60,000 solar energy (10.58 million kW) nationwide is 7.6 times that of Shin-Kori Unit 4 (1 , 4 million kW). However, the actual amount of energy produced by solar energy was well below the facility’s capacity. Solar energy is properly produced only when the sun rises on a clear day, but nuclear power plants can operate 24 hours a day without interruption.

Taking into account the supply and demand of energy, the ‘cost-performance’ (price-performance) of solar energy is even lower. In solar energy, the utilization rate of the facilities falls in the season when energy is most needed.

According to the National Institute of Environmental Sciences, the generation of solar energy by season is of the order of spring, autumn, summer and winter. In winter, the amount of electricity generated decreases due to low solar radiation and snow, and in summer due to high temperatures, the rainy season and typhoons. On the other hand, electricity consumption is higher in winter and summer, when the demand for heating and cooling increases rapidly. Nuclear power plants support the demand for electricity at this time and reduce the utilization rate when solar power generation increases.

As for the occupied area, the inefficiency of sunlight is more serious. Solar energy can get a lot of energy only when the panels are widely distributed. According to the Korea Energy Agency, the area of ​​panels installed since 2015 is 61.24 km2. The total area of ​​the power plant was estimated at 157.5 km2. This is the result of applying the formula of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (14,876㎡ per 1,000kW of installation capacity), taking into account the distance between the transmission and distribution facilities and the panels.

On the other hand, nuclear power plants only need to secure a site where nuclear reactors and power facilities can be installed. Shin-Kori Unit 4 has an area of ​​0.27㎢. Also, the total area is only 0.45 ㎢, even if the company house (0.1 ㎢) where employees can live and all electrical installations (0.07 ㎢) are combined. In terms of total area, it is one 350th of sunlight.

“Solar energy cannot replace nuclear power plants”

Despite such inefficiencies being revealed one after another, the government is pushing for the expansion of solar power supply. It is a position that will not change post-nuclear policy. The Moon Jae-in administration is taking steps to completely abolish the construction of Uljin Shinhanul Units 3 and 4, which was suspended following the closure of the Kori 1 and Wolseong 1 nuclear power plants in 2017.

Shinhanul Units 3 and 4 use the same reactor as Shin-Kori Unit 4 and produce the same result. The combined capacity of the two nuclear power plants is 2.8 million kW. To replace this with solar power, 41.7㎢ of solar power must be installed again based on installed capacity. It is twice the size of Bunnu City (19.6㎢) and four times that of Pangyo New Town (8.92㎢). Experts note that in terms of actual energy production, Shinhanul 3 and 4 units can be completely replaced only by new construction than solar power plants that have been installed across the country.

Representative Yun Young-seok said, “Solar energy is overwhelmingly inefficient than nuclear power plants in all respects, such as investment in facilities, operating costs and area,” he said. . He stressed that “we have to completely review the over-expansion policy of solar power and nuclear power plant, and resume construction of Shinhanul units 3 and 4.”

Reporter Seong Soo-young [email protected]