One Less Nuclear Power Plant Policy

In 2011 Fukushima, Japan experienced a destructive tsunami that hit a power plant and caused a meltdown in three nuclear reactors. It left the nearby areas exposed to high levels of nuclear radiation. A policy was created in Seoul, South Korea called the One Less Nuclear Power Plant (OLNPP) to prevent such disaster. It was also in response to climate change and nationwide power blackouts experienced. The policy was designed to cut energy consumption by 2 million tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) by 2014, which is the same as the annual production of a nuclear power plant. The strategy was to improve energy efficiency, generate more renewable energy sources, and increase electric self-sufficiency from 2.8% in 2011 to 20 % in 2020 (Metropolis).

OLNPP was first announced by mayor Won-Soon Park of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. It consisted of 71 specific projects, six policy categories, and 10 key action plans. The six categories include expanding renewable energy generation, improving building energy efficiency, promoting eco-friendly transportation system, generating green jobs, building a low energy-consuming city, and creating a low energy-consuming civic culture (Wikipedia). The first action plan was the Sunlight City project which would turn the city into a large solar plant. The plan would alter more than 10,000 buildings such as schools, public offices, houses, etc. in order to produce 320 megawatts. By 2015, it will develop 25 energy independent communities. Generation of a smart grid will provide meters for houses to help energy efficiency and reduction. The second action focuses on hydro fuel cell stations. Seoul will install hydro fuel cell stations with a total capacity of 230MW. They will also install hydro power plants along tributaries of the Han River for a capacity of 1MW. The third plan created a building retrofit program. The program formed building regulations to increase efficiency in about 12,000 buildings. The fourth plan is to replace a lot of lightbulbs. Seoul will replace about 8 million lightbulbs with more efficient LED bulbs. “Costs for LED lights will be recovered in the course of 3.5 years through reduced energy fees” (Metropolis). The fifth and sixth plans are similar as in they both refer to energy caps for buildings and place incentives for window to wall ratio below 50%. The seventh plan is a car sharing program designed to reduce the amount of cars on the road. In the Electric Vehicle Sharing Program registered drivers can rent an electric car for about 6,000 won, equivalent to 5 dollars, for an hour. The car they use the most is the Kia Ray EV. The cars and charging stations can be found in designated parking lots throughout the city and the insurance is covered in the rental expenses. There are at least 899 cars and 145,000 memberships. Nine out of 10 users were satisfied with the car’s performance and the competitive costs, but they were not happy with a low mileage of about 90 kilometers per charging and lack of charging stations (Choi). In addition, Seoul also has a car-free day once a year and specific zones only for public transportation. The eighth action plan was to create more green jobs. The goal was create 34,000 new green jobs. The city will start a Green Startup Creation Fund which will organize Green Jobs Expos for small and medium enterprises. The ninth plan is to start a new generation of young green leaders called the Energy Guardian Angels. They spread the energy saving movement across neighborhoods and schools. The goal was to recruit 10,000 by 2014 but at the end of 2012, they already had 9,745 members. The tenth plan created the Seoul Natural Energy Foundation. It will act as the center of the campaign, lead the policy shift, and implement projects.

The plan, overall, was very successful. OLNPP achieved its goal to reduce consumption of 2 million TOE six months before expected. In 2013, the national figure was up 0.04%, whereas the energy consumption of Seoul dropped by 3.2% (Lee). Slogans like ‘Energy saved together, One Less Nuclear Power Plant achieved together’ created motivation for citizens to participate in the green movement. The policy created more jobs for the installation and manufacturing of solar panels and fuel cells. It improved the LED industry from all the replacements. The eco-mileage program won UN Public Service Award in 2013. The program allowed citizens to view water, electricity, and gas usage while providing incentives for energy saving. By July 2013, 1 million buildings registered for the program and within 4 years it saved 160,000 TOE.

While there may be many successes there is also still room for improvement. 89% percent of the cost of the OLNPP policy was spent on the production of renewable energy but failed to meet their targets because of problems like grid interconnection. To fix this, Seoul needs to upgrade their transmission between solar power producers and the grid. Another conflict is in 2014, the national government produced a plan for 2035 to cap the nuclear production to 35% of total production. So if the overall production increases, then a new reactor can be produced. A potential problem can be that most of this project is funded by a private sector. This means that the project will continue only if it successful enough to hold the investors’ attention with renewable energy and energy efficiency. To prevent losing their attention, providing financing options and incentives will help.

In my opinion, the OLNPP policy is a good step in the right direction. Seoul set a good example for what other cities should start doing. It provided creative policy implications that can be used by other governments reorganize them toward a greener future. The project did not completely turn out how they were expected but they are one of the few cities laying the foundation to a greener environment. Strategies of this policy should at least be considered when creating a new energy policy. Getting the youth involved and informed is a great way to spread the word of going green and motivate other places to do the same if they have the resources. Surrounding your city with renewable energy resources is the way to the future.

Works Cited

Choi, Kyong-Ae. “Seoul Rolls Out Electric-Car Sharing Program.” Driver’s Seat RSS. The Wall Street Journal, 28 May 2013. Web. 19 Feb. 2015

Lee, Taehwa, Taedong Lee, and Yujin Lee. “Energy Policy.” An Experiment for Urban Energy Autonomy in Seoul: The One ‘Less’ Nuclear Power Plant Policy. Elsevier, 1 Nov. 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.

“One Less Nuclear Power Plant.” Metropolis. Lotto Stiftung Berlin, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 19 Feb. 2015. http://policytransfer.metropolis.org/case-studies/one-less-nuclear-power-plant

“One Less Nuclear Power Plant.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 17 November 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2015.