More than eight in 10 South Koreans say the government should include plans for new nuclear power plants in the 12th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand now being drafted, according to a survey released on the 28th. Nearly 90% said developing and deploying small modular reactors is necessary.
The Korea Energy Information Culture Agency commissioned Korea Research International to survey 2,000 adults aged 18 and older from June 12 to 15. The poll was conducted by telephone interview. It was carried out before the government announced its three mega-projects.
Asked whether plans for new nuclear plants should be included in the electricity plan to prepare for rising power demand, 82.9% of respondents said it was necessary. Another 79.2% said building new nuclear plants was necessary in itself.
On continued operation of reactors that have reached the end of their design life, 86.5% said it was necessary. Both new construction and life extension of existing reactors drew high levels of support.
Local acceptance showed a different picture. Some 56.3% said they would support a nuclear plant being built near their home or workplace. The gap suggests that respondents agree on the need to expand nuclear power while taking a more cautious stance on where plants are actually sited.
Support was also high for SMRs, seen as the next generation of nuclear technology. Some 86.8% of respondents said developing and deploying SMRs was necessary.
Interest is expected to grow in the SMR businesses of domestic companies. Doosan Enerbility (034020) is working with global SMR developers including NuScale Power and X-energy to build reactor modules and to manufacture materials and components for main equipment. HD Hyundai (267250) is expanding cooperation on manufacturing and supplying core components for the sodium-cooled reactor being developed by U.S.-based TerraPower. SK Ecoplant, a unit of SK (034730), is taking part in a government-private project to develop a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor and is exploring commercial uses of SMRs such as industrial heat and hydrogen production.
Public awareness of SMRs, however, remains limited. Only 39.7% of respondents said they knew what an SMR is. The question on whether SMR development and deployment is necessary was asked after respondents were given a description: a next-generation nuclear technology with smaller output than large reactors, built in factories and assembled on site, that can be used not only for power generation but also for district heating, seawater desalination and hydrogen production, and that is under development and demonstration in several countries. Support rose sharply once respondents were given that information.
The agency plans to conduct further public opinion surveys on carbon neutrality and the power grid in the third quarter and on energy policy in the fourth quarter. The response rate for this survey was 10.0%, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.
