Replacement of Atomic Energy
The ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy announced on December 13 that South Korea’s new and renewable energy-based power generation is predicted to reach a rated capacity of 27.9 GW in 2020 to exceed its power generation from atomic energy by a margin of 1.2 GW and reach 45.5 GW in 2025 to exceed it by a margin of 13 GW.
According to the ministry, the capacity of photovoltaic power generation facilities is expected to increase from 2.4 GW to more than 4 GW between 2014 and this year and then to 5.5 GW in 2017, 12 GW in 2020 and 19 GW in 2025 to show the fastest growth among renewable energy sources such as solar power, wind power, bio energy and wastes.
“A total of 828 new and renewable energy projects equivalent to 3 GW are being delayed now due to various regulations, civil petitions, financing problems and so on, and this means that an improvement of conditions for those projects can result in a facility capacity increase of no less than 3 GW in the near future,” the ministry explained, adding, “Additional nuclear power plant construction is not a viable option because of earthquake risks and the like whereas new and renewable energy is the best way for South Korea to deal with an increase in power demand, fine dust and climate change at the same time.”
New and renewable energy does have its own limitations though. For example, it is characterized by a very low level of contribution at a time when the use of electricity is large. “New and renewable energy’s contribution at a peak electricity demand needs to be increased along with the amount of power generated from itself for new and renewable energy to be capable of functioning as a stable power source,” the ministry went on to say, adding, “This can be achieved by means of energy storage systems and the like.”