South Korea expects the nuclear energy to make up at least 30% of the country’s power generation by 2030 and is restarting construction on two new reactors at the Hanuel Nuclear Power Plant. According to the World Nuclear Association, Korea’s nuclear power plants account for a third of domestic electricity needs and also Korea is a major exporter of nuclear technology to the world.

The use of nuclear power came into question after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster following a powerful tsunami and earthquake in 2011. Thus, nuclear energy is one of the most controversial energy sources. Here are some of the pros and cons of nuclear energy.

Nuclear energy is relatively cheap to produce, and they have low operating costs. Secondly, they do not produce any carbon emissions. Also, High energy density is one of the advantages. The amount of energy released in a nuclear fission reaction is ten million times greater than amount obtained through burning fossil fuel. The disadvantage of nuclear energy is its environmental impact through mining and water discharge. Uranium has to be mined causing negative impact on the surrounding area. Also, the plant releases the cooling water back to the ocean which increases the ocean temperature affecting the aquatic life. Also, the waste created by nuclear power plants remains radioactive for thousands of years, which calls for an effective solution in the near future.

As mentioned, there is still much debate about the operation of the nuclear energy plant, but with the ambitious goal of Paris agreement to cut carbon footprint and energy crisis due to Russia-Ukraine War, countries such as South Korea and Germany are turning back to nuclear energy.