Due to Fluctuations in Power Generation
The combined capacity of renewable energy facilities in South Korea topped 30 GW this year. This is desirable in terms of reducing the use of fossil fuels to achieve carbon neutrality.
One problem is that renewable energy sources do not guarantee constant power generation in all hours and weathers, and the cost for dealing with the fluctuations is astronomical. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, no less than 45 trillion won is required until 2036 for energy storage system installation for dealing with the shortcomings. There is no guarantee that taxpayers' money will not be included in the cost.
The cost almost doubles when power transmission and distribution costs are added. Renewable power generation systems are small in scale and scattered in different areas in many cases, which means a lot of transmission and distribution facilities need to be installed to send electricity to areas with more population.
South Korea is planning to increase the ratio of renewable energy-based power generation to its total power generation to 21.5 percent by 2030 and 30.6 percent by 2036. According to this plan, renewable energy facilities in the country are supposed to be increased by 4 GW to 5 GW a year, which is a difficult goal to attain according to experts.
In fact, the huge cost burden is already becoming reality. South Korea is coping with the fluctuations with electricity generated from LNG, which can be immediately generated when requested and is more expensive than those based on coal and nuclear power. The Korea Electric Power Corporation spent an all-time high of 3.6382 trillion won on LNG-based electric power purchase last month, when the spot price of imported LNG jumped 56.2 percent year on year to US$1,258.3 per ton.
The gap between power demand and electricity that can be supplied from renewable power facilities increases in winter in particular. On Dec. 15, when there was a heavy snowfall, the power demand was highest at 10:00 am to 11:00 am. The demand in that section was 92.4 GW, but solar power met only 7 percent of the demand. At present, 24 GW of solar power generation facilities are installed in South Korea. The section is when the output of the facilities is second- or third-highest during a day.
Another problem is that renewable energy facilities have to be forcibly stopped frequently until power grid networks become complete. This is because output control is essential in order to prevent power failure attributable to excessive generation. In Jeju, which is rather limited in terms of grid connection to the mainland, such forced output controls occurred 82 times in the first half of this year alone.
Besides, South Korea’s location conditions are not suitable at all for renewable power generation. The University of California analyzed the stability of renewable power generation in 42 countries last year and South Korea came in 42nd. The analysis assumes that each country meets 100 percent of its power demand with nothing but solar and wind power. South Korea’s power stability stood at 72.2 percent in the analysis whereas Russia, Canada and Australia recorded 90.9 percent, 89.8 percent and 89.5 percent, respectively. Those of Egypt, the United States and China are 88.2 percent, 87.7 percent and 87.5 percent, respectively.