challenges for South Korea's PV industry in various value chain sectors. Notwithstanding high levels of technological expertise, the polysilicon and wafer sectors in South Korea's domestic PV industry have collapsed. Some hope that expanding South Korea's solar PV market will help secure global comp Contact online >>
challenges for South Korea''s PV industry in various value chain sectors. Notwithstanding high levels of technological expertise, the polysilicon and wafer sectors in South Korea''s domestic PV industry have collapsed. Some hope that expanding South Korea''s solar PV market will help secure global competitiveness for
In this context, this study discusses the future of solar and wind energy in South Korea in four key aspects: (i) opportunities and potential achievement of the vision of government; (ii) potential daily energy output across different geographical areas; (iii) current status and prospects; and (iv) challenges and potential solutions.
Our findings reveal that elevated PM10 concentrations lead to reduced solar panel efficiency, decreased power output, and increased costs. These results underscore the critical need to mitigate air pollution to foster the growth of renewable energy and achieve South Korea''s ambitious renewable energy targets.
South Korea then adopted targets to increase renewable energy power output to 20% by 2030 as part of its Renewable Energy 2030 Implementation Plan released in 2017; the plan called for significantly ramping up new capacity of photovoltaic and wind energy. South Korea addressed its reliance on coal in another plan released in 2020, which
Rules and regulations for small-scale renewable energy production in South Korea include: the Electric Utility Act – this Act governs electrical installation for private use; and ; local government initiatives – provision of subsidies to encourage the adoption of mini solar power generation systems.
Amongst the most prosperous countries globally, South Korea is a benchmark that others look at and draw inspiration from. This is especially true regarding renewable energy sources, its overall energy mix and energy transition. With the latest declaration to achieve net-zero by 2050, South Korea acts as a role model. However, when looking under the surface, there are plenty of barriers that risk derailing the renewable energy transition in South Korea.
Data from the Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI) revealed that fossil fuels (82.5%) dominate South Korea’s energy sources, along with importing 94% of its energy from overseas. For example, South Korea is the world’s fourth-biggest importer of LNG after Japan, the EU and China.
Additionally, despite net-zero pledges, the country is in the process of building a new 7.3 gigawatt (GW) coal-fired power plant. This runs contrary to its ambition to retire all of South Korea’s coal plants by 2029 to align with the Paris Agreement.
As of 2020 South Korea’s renewable energy sources included wind and solar energy. Yet, they generated just 3.8% of the country''s electricity – up from 1% in 2015. Today, renewables account for just 6.4% of South Korea''s energy mix, the lowest among all OECD members. The government aims to increase the share of renewable energy to 20% by 2030 and up to 42% by 2034.
The carbon emission reduction target of 24.4% compared to 2017 levels. In comparison with other countries, South Korea’s current NDC lack ambition. For example, the US and Japan aim to cut emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030.
Under former president Moon Jae-in, South Korea showed ambition to reshape the country’s traditional energy mix and develop new green technologies. This included a large focus on renewable energy.
The Green New Deal, alongside the Ninth Basic Plan, the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) and a stimulus package for South Korea’s renewable energy are giving renewables a good start. However, the uphill climb might prove too steep. Due to its starting position and the green energy regress in the past couple of years, South Korea faces a more challenging task than many other nations.
As a result, South Korea has significant and expensive legacy assets in need of transition. According to Carbon Tracker, the country has the highest stranded asset risk globally. Furthermore, new coal power operations are under construction.
South Korea must retire as much as 13.7 GW of coal capacity by 2034, according to Carbon Tracker. However, instead of renewable energy, it may look to liquefied natural gas (LNG). Furthermore, throughout the Ninth Basic Plan''s legislative lifespan (2020- 2034), gas-fired capacity is set to increase to 55 GW in 2030 – up from 41 GW today. Such a scenario risks substituting one type of stranded asset risk with another. It will also hinder the country''s battle to lower its carbon emissions.
Carbon Tracker also concluded that new gas power is uncompetitive compared with renewables energy when taking into account Levelised Costs of Electricity (LCOE). Due to this, the think-tank suggests that LNG should serve as a substitute and not act as a baseload.
Furthermore, South Korea imports all of its gas as LNG. The fossil fuel is notorious for volatile commodity prices. For example, between October 2020 and January 2021, the Northeast Asian spot price increased from under USD 5/MMbtu to over USD 30/MMbtu.
Not all support the green energy idea. In rural areas, many communities, do not want renewable energy projects close to villages or agricultural land. The growing conflicts between green energy companies and communities prompted policymakers to delay or even reject projects. Today, 123 of the 226 basic municipalities have regulations restricting land available for solar projects.
The target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 means there is much to do. To accelerate the transition to clean energy, South Korea would have to substantially increase the share of renewables in its total energy mix. This also means phasing out coal, rethinking grid operations and energy markets, design more competitive pricing models for renewables and foster the local hydrogen industry.
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