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Seoul may scale down nuclear expansion plans

  • : Electricity, Natural gas
  • 25/01/15

The delay to finalising the country's nuclear goals may make it unfeasible to build sufficient capacity before current assets expire, writes Evelyn Lee

South Korea's energy industry has faced a whirlwind of challenges since the impeachment of now-suspended president Yoon Suk-Yeol, with the political turmoil stalling a crucial review of its energy strategy in the national assembly. The government is now seeking to scale down its nuclear expansion ambitions in order to hasten the plan's review.

Yoon's surprise declaration of martial law last month was reversed within six hours owing to bipartisan political pressure and widespread protests, which resulted in a national assembly vote in favour of the president's impeachment and his subsequent arrest on 15 January. Yoon is suspended from office pending a ruling by the country's constitutional court — due within six months of the impeachment vote on 14 December. If six out of nine justices vote to uphold the impeachment, Yoon will be removed from office and presidential elections will be held within 60 days.

South Korea acted quickly following the martial law declaration, but government action has overall been slowed down by the political turmoil — including on energy policy. The latest draft of its long-overdue electricity plan was completed in June and scheduled to be submitted to the Trade, Industry, Energy, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises and Start-ups Committee of the national assembly by the end of last year. But the committee has suspended general meetings since 19 December, according to schedules released on its website.

The long-term electricity plan is renewed every two years and serves as a basis for business planning, especially for state-controlled companies. Gas incumbent Kogas' procurement strategy has historically reflected the electricity plan. The latest draft lays out Seoul's intention to build three more nuclear reactors by 2038. But planning and construction would take nearly 14 years, according to the government, so the delay in finalising the plan could result in a power supply shortfall by 2038 — when 9.15GW of existing nuclear capacity is set to expire.

Nuclear fallout

The government may opt to scale down its nuclear expansion ambitions in order to get the draft electricity plan seen by the committee — which must review the plan, although it is not required to approve it. And less nuclear capacity could increase the need for more gas-fired capacity.

The energy ministry pledged on 8 January to finalise the plan by June, after which it will pass related bills including the power grid act, but it did not say how it intends to progress the plan in the national assembly. The Korean Nuclear Society (KNS) responded on 9 January, accusing the government of allegedly planning to revise its nuclear objectives so it can speed up the plan's progress. The government's intent to revise its nuclear goals "without any scientific basis" shows that the electricity plan is just a "political bargaining tool that can vary depending on political interests", the KNS said. This threatens the stability of the South Korean electricity market, it added. The ministry did not respond to Argus' request for comment.

But the alleged revision may not have been solely driven by political motives. Seoul may have missed the window of opportunity for approving new nuclear capacity in the timescale required, judging by the 14-year timeline for planning and construction. It remains unclear how the government would offset any reduction in its nuclear ambitions, but South Korea's slow grid development may leave little alternative other than boosting gas-fired capacity. Under the current draft electricity plan, gas-fired output would account for a 25.1pc (160.8TWh) share of total generation in 2030 and 11.1pc (78.1TWh) in 2038, up from 22.9pc (142.4TWh) and 9.3pc (62.3TWh), respectively, in the previous plan.


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25/01/24

Trump's wind order threatens US steel demand

Trump's wind order threatens US steel demand

Houston, 24 January (Argus) — An executive order signed by President Donald Trump this week threatens steel consumption by the burgeoning US offshore wind industry. Trump on Monday ordered that the offshore continental shelf be withdrawn from new wind energy leasing, effective 21 January until the order is revoked. While the order theoretically protects existing leases, Trump also ordered the secretary of the interior, in consultation with the US attorney general, to conduct ecological, economic, and environmental reviews to determine if the leases should be terminated or amended. "We're not going to do the wind thing," Trump said. Trump's withdrawal targets only wind energy leasing on federal property, and leaves leasing for oil and gas, mineral exploration and environmental conservation untouched. The order could cut demand for US platemakers such as Nucor and JSW USA, who have made investments in their operations to target the offshore wind industry. A single monopile can require upwards of 2,500 metric tonnes (t) (2,756 short tons) of steel, according to German-based producer EEW Group, which has been building a monopile production facility in Paulsboro, New Jersey, to serve the US offshore wind industry. Japanese trading company Mitsui, Spanish wind turbine manufacturer GRI Renewable Industries and Nucor announced in August that they were considering developing a joint venture wind tower plant on the US east coast. Nucor recently built a 1.2mn short tons (st)/yr plate mill in Brandenburg, Kentucky, that the steelmaker wants to use to supply plate to monopile structure production. JSW Steel, an Indian steelmaker, announced in June it would invest $110mn to upgrade its Baytown, Texas, plate mill so it could make plates for offshore monopiles. The Baytown mill produced nearly 121,000st of plate and pipe in the fourth quarter, up by 15pc from a year earlier. Trump is also attempting to halt at least one onshore wind project, pausing activities around the Lava Ridge Wind Project, a potentially 1,000MW system on public lands in Idaho. Trump called the Bureau of Land Management's approval in December "allegedly contrary to the public interest" and subject to "legal deficiencies". Interior will evaluate the project's record of decision and possibly conduct new analysis on the system. By Rye Druzchetta Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump touts off-grid gas, coal for AI data centers


25/01/24
25/01/24

Trump touts off-grid gas, coal for AI data centers

New York, 24 January (Argus) — President Donald Trump said he plans to give developers "very rapid approvals" to build data centers running artificial intelligence (AI) software, as well as off-grid electric generating facilities to power them. "I'm going to give emergency declarations so they can start building them almost immediately," Trump told the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in virtual remarks on Thursday. Allowing for a rapid increase in power generation capacity will enable the US to scale up its AI capabilities and be competitive with China, he said. Trump said he has been telling developers that he wants them to build electric generating facilities next to their planned data centers. These would bypass connection to the grid, which he said is "old" and unreliable. The developers will be able to fuel their generators with "anything they want," including natural gas, and could use "good, clean coal" as a back-up in case a gas pipeline were to explode, cutting gas supplies to a data center's off-grid gas power plant, he said. Trump's comments echo those made recently by executives in the oil and gas industry, who are betting that tech giants' desire to quickly build out data centers to develop their own AI software will force them to eschew the long, arduous interconnection process through which new customers connect to the grid, and instead secure their own personal supply of electricity generated by natural gas. ExxonMobil in December said it was in talks to provide AI data centers with "fully islanded" gas-fired power, which could be installed "independent of utility timelines" and at a pace that other baseload generation fuel sources, like nuclear, could not match. Alan Armstrong, chief executive of Williams, the largest US gas pipeline company, told Argus that AI data center operators are going to build in states where they can quickly secure off-grid electricity supplies. By Julian Hast Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

S Australia gets OK to use diesel generators for backup


25/01/24
25/01/24

S Australia gets OK to use diesel generators for backup

Adelaide, 24 January (Argus) — Australian federal energy regulator has approved a South Australian (SA) state government bid to temporarily change regulations, ordering two diesel-fired generators in the state to remain available for back-up electricity supply. French utility Engie last year said it would mothball the 63MW Snuggery and 75MW Port Lincoln generators. The SA's Labor energy minister opposed this, and last month wrote to the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) to request the Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) be given powers to direct this capacity into the market if supply is threatened. The rule change will be enforced until 31 March, and will help secure SA's electricity supply this summer, the AEMC said on 23 January. SA could face load-shedding during cases of reliability shortfalls, especially during extreme weather, without sufficient backup reserves. No objections were received during the fast-tracked process, the AEMC said. SA is highly dependent on renewable power such as solar and wind, especially after closing its last coal plants in the last decade. Its sole connection to the national electricity market is via links to Victoria state. The 800MW EnergyConnect electricity transmission link to New South Wales is still under construction and has been delayed until July 2027, from an original guidance of 2023. About 72pc of SA's power consumption was from renewable sources last year, with gas contributing 24pc and imports from Victoria making up 10pc, leaving the state vulnerable to outages if this connection is damaged. But backup generators are costly to maintain as cheap renewable energy floods the grid, leaving governments stuck between subsidising fossil-fuelled plants or facing politically and economically damaging interruptions to supply. By Tom Major Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Fewer, smaller shale deals in 2025: Enverus


25/01/23
25/01/23

Fewer, smaller shale deals in 2025: Enverus

New York, 23 January (Argus) — After $300bn of consolidation in the US oil and gas industry over the past two years, deal making is set to fall in 2025 while breakeven prices for acquired inventory will likely rise, according to consultancy Enverus. The rapid pace of mergers and acquisitions targeting shale-based assets has led to many of the best targets having been snapped up. As a result, the quality of newly acquired inventory is declining, averaging a $50/bl breakeven price in 2024, up from $45/bl in 2022-23, Enverus calculates. "The pool of available remaining private equity assets is largely smaller, higher on the cost curve or both," Enverus said in its annual outlook. Yet a pressing need for scale and future of location inventory will encourage smaller producers to embark upon more deals. And improved efficiencies — such as drilling longer lateral wells — will be key in boosting economics on more marginal acreage. Mergers involving public companies will ease up in 2025 from a recent average of five a year, according to Enverus. While deals involving smaller producers may offer suppressed valuations relative to private opportunities, a potential lack of a strategic fit and agreement on future management teams may pose obstacles. By Stephen Cunningham Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

N2EX at 2-week low on storm Eowyn


25/01/23
25/01/23

N2EX at 2-week low on storm Eowyn

London, 23 January (Argus) — The UK's N2EX power spot index for tomorrow cleared at its lowest in more than two weeks owing to forecast lower demand and higher wind output, likely supporting exports to France. The N2EX day-ahead spot cleared at £95.27/MWh for tomorrow, falling from as high as £261.22/MWh for Wednesday. Hourly prices cleared at a low of £34.05/MWh between 04:00-05:00 GMT tomorrow, in settlement periods 9-11. National demand — which excludes interconnector exports, as well as station load and pumped-storage pumping — is forecast to peak at 38.8GW on Friday, down from 41.1GW forecast for today and 43.1GW for yesterday. Minimum temperatures in London Heathrow are forecast to rise to 5.4°C from just 0.8°C today and above an average of 2.9°C so far in January — 2.1°C below the 10-year norm for the period. Combined metered and embedded wind output is forecast at 14.2GW, with gale force winds expected in parts of the UK as storm Eowyn hits the country. UK weather agency the Met Office has issued a red weather warning for Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland tomorrow. Wind output is expected to rise sharply from just 11.4GW expected for today and well above Wednesday. Output on Wednesday was just 836MW, the lowest since March 2022. Higher wind output is likely to support exports to continental markets, particularly during off-peak hours, while day-ahead cross-border capacity auctions indicate the UK is due to shift to being a net exporter with France across the whole day. Allocated capacity in the GB-France direction on the IFA and IFA2 links — each with 1GW available — cleared at implied premiums to the reverse direction of €26.70/MWh (£22.53/MWh) and €24.02/MWh (£20.27/MWh), respectively. The UK was a net exporter to France for much of last week, with net exports averaging 750MW on 13-18 January, when wind output in the UK averaged 10.6GW. Outages at the 1GW Eleclink with France and 1GW BritNed with the Netherlands, along with a 700MW curtailment at the 1.4GW Viking Link with Denmark, remain in place. By Timothy Santonastaso n2EX daily £/MWh Wind output vs UK-FR flows GW Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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