And to tackle the fine dust problem.... the energy ministry plans to cut coal-fired power plants and use more environmentally-friendly sources of energy.<br />But with such plans... the price of coal energy is expected to rise.<br />Yoon Jung-min has details. <br />The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to reduce the use of coal and increase renewable energy to tackle the severe fine dust pollution in the country.<br />The government's long-term energy supply plan will run from this year until 2033.<br /><br />According to the ministry, energy from coal-fired power plants, which is considered a major cause of air pollution, will be cut from 45-point-4 percent to 36-point-1 percent of the country's total energy supply by 2030.<br />Liquefied Natural Gas and renewable energy are likely to replace it, as the government plans to increase their proportions to nearly 20 percent. <br />Meanwhile, nuclear energy will be reduced following the government's policy to move away from nuclear power.<br />The ministry plans to raise the costs of coal-based energy by including emissions trading and environmental costs, which had been excluded from its price, to reduce the use of coal.<br /><br />Currently, power is supplied based on fuel costs to seek economic efficiency.<br />The least-expensive sources of energy, such as nuclear and coal power, were preferred,... but the new plan will reduce the price gap between coal and LNG,... and allow more environmentally-friendly energy to be generated.<br /><br />The energy shift, however, is expected to raise overall electricity charges.<br /><br />The ministry plans to close coal-fired power plants that have been operating for longer than thirty years,... and replace some of them with eco-friendly fuels such as LNG or wood pellets.<br />Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News. <br />
