Nuclear power enables efficient electricity generation, but it also poses risks, such as the Fukushima accident. To replace it, we need to reduce our reliance on nuclear power plants by reducing energy waste, developing renewable energy, and increasing power efficiency. By building a sustainable energy supply system, we can prepare for a safer and greener future.
Remember the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant explosion on March 11, 2011, in the Tohoku region of Japan? The nuclear explosion caused many casualties and leaked radiation into the sea. Japan is still dealing with the aftermath of the radiation leak into the ocean. What is the problem with radiation leakage that hasn’t been solved?
Since seawater is always circulating along with the currents, when radioactivity leaks into the ocean, it spreads to the surrounding waters along with the nearby currents. This contaminates the marine ecosystem with radioactivity and makes it impossible for people to eat seafood. Not only that, but it also makes agricultural products inedible, since all agricultural products near the leak area are contaminated. Most problematic is the contamination of water resources. Water makes up the majority of our bodies, and we need it to survive. If radioactively contaminated water were to circulate and contaminate all the water on Earth, the planet would no longer be habitable.
Why have we been using, and continue to use, these dangerous nuclear power plants? Because it can generate electricity at a relatively low cost compared to other forms of power generation, such as thermal power, and because uranium, the raw material for nuclear power generation, is widely available in the world, unlike oil, which helps keep us energy independent.
Korea, a country that does not have a single drop of oil, relies on nuclear power for about 40% of its electricity production for the above reasons. But should we continue to rely on nuclear power? Those in favor of keeping nuclear power plants open argue that we already rely too heavily on nuclear power, that we can’t get the amount of electricity we need if we get rid of them, and that there is no other way to get electricity as efficiently as nuclear power. However, even though there are many benefits of operating nuclear power plants, there is no guarantee that nuclear power plants in Korea will not have accidents, as was the case in Fukushima, and if they do, the damage will be very serious, and the damage will be economically incalculable, so I think we need to find a way to replace them.
I think the most fundamental solution to replace nuclear power plants is to reduce energy waste. It sounds very basic and obvious, but if we reduce energy waste, we can provide the energy we need without using nuclear power. Although we only started using energy in earnest after the Industrial Revolution, the fact that we have used more energy since the Industrial Revolution than we did in the millions of years between our birth and the Industrial Revolution suggests that, even taking into account the advances in technology and civilization, we could certainly live with less energy. In other words, we are overconsuming energy in the modern world.
One of the causes of overconsumption of electric energy is the oversupply of electric energy from nuclear power. When there is an abundant supply of electric energy, people don’t realize the value of electric energy and overconsume it, which leads to a shortage and the need to build more nuclear power plants, creating a vicious cycle. Therefore, if we gradually shut down nuclear power plants and reduce people’s energy waste, we will have enough electric energy without nuclear power plants in the future.
Another way to reduce overconsumption is to reform the electricity tax system. As of 2011, Korea’s household electricity use accounted for 14% of electricity consumption and 86% of other electricity use, with most of the electricity energy being used for industrial purposes. However, if we look at the electricity tariff system, household electricity is subject to a progressive tax and is about 10 times more expensive than industrial electricity. Industrial electricity, on the other hand, is not subject to progressive taxation, and the price decreases as you use it, and you pay less than the cost. Therefore, if we regulate the amount of electrical energy used by businesses by applying a progressive tax to businesses, setting a limit on electrical energy consumption, and increasing the price of industrial electricity, we will save enough energy and reduce our dependence on nuclear power plants.
The second solution is to utilize renewable energy, which is generated from natural sources such as the sun, wind, and geothermal energy. Currently, Korea generates most of the energy we use from nuclear and thermal power plants. However, there are many problems with nuclear power plants, such as radioactive waste and reliability issues. In addition, thermal power plants can cause environmental pollution due to sulfuric acid gas and carbon monoxide emissions, and there is a problem that the reserves of thermal power generation resources are almost at the limit, so there is only a short period of time left to use them. Therefore, it is necessary to develop renewable energy to replace it, and if renewable energy is developed enough, it can replace nuclear power plants.
A European example of renewable energy is the Desertec project in Germany. This is a €400 billion renewable energy project involving more than 20 large German companies. The goal is to build a giant solar power plant in the Sahara Desert in North Africa and sell the power to Europe, which, if successful, could provide as much as 15% of Europe’s electricity. Not 15% of Germany’s electricity, but 15% of all European electricity. Even if we don’t have to use nuclear power, it shows us that we can get the energy we need without pollution by making the most of our surroundings and using what nature gives us in an environmentally friendly way.
Finally, creating a system that sets a minimum power efficiency rating and prohibits the sale of products that are less power efficient than that rating could also help us conserve electricity and reduce our dependence on nuclear power plants. Do you remember the light bulb? In the United States, if you want to buy a light bulb, you can’t because the law prohibits the production of light bulbs. Why did the US ban the production of compact bulbs? Because the power efficiency of compact bulbs is very low. The power efficiency of a compact bulb is 5% to 10%, which means that if I give it 100 power, only 5% to 10% of the power is used to produce light, and 90% to 95% of the power is lost to the air in the form of heat energy. The lower the power efficiency, the more we waste electricity. Korea, like the U.S., could reduce wasted electricity and reduce its reliance on nuclear power plants by setting a minimum power efficiency rating and regulating the production of products below that rating.
I believe that there are many ways in which we can provide the electrical energy we need without nuclear power plants. We can reduce the supply of electricity, increase the price of electricity to reduce people’s demand for electricity, build power plants that use renewable energy, such as solar and wind farms, to reduce our reliance on nuclear power plants, and set electricity efficiency ratings to discourage the production of inefficient products. I think that if the government takes the initiative to organize energy-saving campaigns and introduce various regulations to reduce people’s energy waste, we will be able to replace nuclear power plants.
To summarize, despite the dangers of nuclear power, we have continued to use it to generate electricity efficiently. However, for a sustainable energy future, we need to reduce our reliance on nuclear power plants by reducing energy waste, developing renewable energy, and increasing power efficiency. This will allow us to build a safer and greener energy supply.
