South Korea: Future Market for Renewable Energies

When the nuclear disaster occurred in Fukushima/Japan on March 11, 2011, the horror in South Korea, 1000 km away, was great – On November 15, 2017, geothermal drilling in the southeast of the country triggered violent earthquakes; four nuclear reactors were affected just a few kilometers from the epicenter.

South Korea is a third smaller than Germany in terms of area, and awareness of sustainability and the environment is still developing. While the photovoltaic (PV) market only began to develop in 2005, Fukushima was the real turning point.

Fukushima as a turning point

When the nuclear disaster occurred in Fukushima, Japan, on March 11, 2011, the shock was immense in South Korea, 1,000 km away. And the powerful earthquake on November 15, 2017, triggered by geothermal drilling in the southeast of the country, where four nuclear power plants are located just a few kilometers from the epicenter, continues to have repercussions to this day.

“In South Korea, nuclear power has been supported by the government for over 40 years, primarily because we lack natural resources.” With this statement, Daum Jang of Greenpeace aptly describes South Korea’s dilemma. He further mentions in an interview that he is annoyed by how industry-friendly newspapers use Germany’s energy transition as a negative example, emphasizing the costs of German climate policy but not its benefits. However, since Fukushima, the situation has changed, and President Moon Jae-in has reaffirmed his plans for a nuclear phase-out. He faces strong opposition, but public sentiment in South Korea leaves him with no other option.

South Korea sets new target of 35% renewable energy by 2040

Environmental protection and combating climate change have played a significant role in the South Korean government under Moon Jae-in since 2017. Under the motto "Renewable Energy 3020," the share of renewable energies in electricity generation is to be increased from the current meager 8% to 20% by 2030. In return, at least 10 coal-fired power plants are slated for closure. Moon thus aims to reduce CO2 emissions by 37% by 2030.

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The problem of nuclear power

Currently, 25 nuclear reactors cover 21% of South Korea's energy needs. Furthermore, one in three newly built nuclear power plants worldwide is being constructed by South Korean companies. The nuclear lobby in South Korea is correspondingly powerful, and the energy transition is not necessarily secure. There is currently no clear stance on nuclear power. President Moon once promised to phase out nuclear power, but later retracted his promise. However, according to a poll, 61% of South Koreans support phasing out nuclear energy, while another 10% are undecided.

Potential for solar and wind energy

According to government plans, solar and wind energy could expand to a potential of 235 GW by 2040, utilizing unused agricultural land and rooftops. At the end of 2018, according to statistics from the International Renewable Energy Agency, Korea's installed photovoltaic capacity was around 7.86 GW, with 2 GW added in 2018 alone.

At the end of 2006, the total PV capacity was just under 25 MW, at the end of 2011 it was approximately 779 MW and at the end of 2013 it was more than 1.5 GW.

By 2014, 2,556 MW of photovoltaic systems had already been installed. This accounted for 26.8% of renewable energies.

In 2015, the share of PV systems was 3,690 MW. Overall, the share of renewable energies increased by 10,197 MW during the same period.

According to the “Renewable Energy 3020 Action Plan”, the government aims to set a renewable energy capacity of 63.8 GW by 2030, with photovoltaics accounting for 36.5 GW of that.

By 2035, 14.1% of all generated renewable energy should be produced by solar energy.

The government also intends to expand the installation of photovoltaic systems, particularly in apartments and buildings in cities. Therefore, it is primarily promoting the installation of photovoltaic systems in single-family and multi-family homes. The market for photovoltaic systems is also to be expanded in the agricultural sector. Finding suitable land for these systems, which is predominantly located in rural areas, is a key priority.

Current energy consumption in South Korea

South Korea's current energy consumption is 507.6 billion kWh. This is offset by a capacity of 526 billion kWh (104%). South Korea is fully self-sufficient in energy.
Per capita consumption is 9,816.45 kWh, compared to 5,511.05 kWh in Europe.

The energy sources consist of the following:

• Fossil fuels – 69% (Germany: 41.0%)
• Nuclear power – 21% (Germany: 5.0%)
• Hydropower – 2% (Germany: 2.0%)
• Renewable energies – 8% (Germany: 52.0%)

 

Advertising measures

Various measures are also being implemented to raise public awareness of renewable energies. For example, as part of the project, a solar map of Seoul has been integrated into a website: http://solarmap.seoul.go.kr/index.do

German technology in South Korea

To achieve the 2040 target, the government is relying on support from international experts.

For example, the VSB Group, headquartered in Dresden, founded the Korean subsidiary “VSB Renewable Energy Korea Ltd.”. To enter the market, it secured a 35 MW wind farm project.

FKI Tower in Seoul

The FKI Tower is one example of how renewable energies are increasingly finding their way into everyday life.

The FKI Tower, also known by its full name, the Federation of Korean Industries Head Office Building, is a skyscraper located on Yeouido Island in Seoul. It was designed by the American architectural firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture. Construction began in 2010 and was completed in 2014. At 245 meters tall, it is one of the tallest buildings in South Korea and the fifth tallest in Seoul. The building was awarded the "Building of the Year 2015" prize by American-architects.com.

The building's construction had to comply with the city's requirement that all new large commercial buildings generate at least 5% of their energy on-site. Furthermore, the architecture was to be in keeping with its surroundings. The design team developed a strategy that met both requirements with an external wall system that combined energy efficiency and energy generation technology, while simultaneously reducing the amount of energy the building consumes for its heating and cooling needs.

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