Aiming to Raise Share of Renewable Energy to 25% by 2030
Korea Western Power is seeking to expand its overseas solar power generation projects to 1 GW based on its experience in operating Korea’s largest floating photovoltaic facilities.
In 2018, the global solar power generation volume reached its highest level of 108 GW. The figure is expected to exceed 120 GW this year, up 11 percent from a year earlier, and 140 GW in 2020. The growth rate is expected to accelerate as rapid technological development has enabled solar power generation to compete with thermal power generation in terms of power production cost. Now, solar power generation is a core power generation source that leads a paradigm shift in the global renewable energy-based power generation industry.
In consideration of the paradigm shift, Korea Western Power plans to promote solar power projects in advanced countries by harnessing its experience of carrying out Korea’s largest photovoltaic project and excellent technology.
Korea Western Power is planning to advance into overseas solar power generation markets including Southeast Asia, Australia, the United States and Taiwan. For this, it plans to devise thorough safety measures at each stage of design, construction, and operation, prepare eco-friendly measures, study measures to secure residents’ acceptability and establish plans to rev up local economies.
Korea Western Power’s ultimate goal is to expand its overseas solar power generation capacity to 1 GW. In March of this year, the company signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a Taiwanese company to develop a 50 MW solar power plant and started full-scale project development such as a feasibility study. The project is expected to generate a revenue of about 130 billion won during the commercial operation of the nuclear power plant. Korea Western Power will invest about 53 billion won in the project through joint investment with local company DS Technology.
Korea Western Power will play the roles of construction management (CM), power plant operation and maintenance (O&M), technical support (TS) among others and is strongly committed to leading the way in sharpening the Korean renewable energy industry’s competitiveness and creating jobs in the private sector.
Moreover, Korea Western Power is also considering a 560 MW photovoltaic project targeting southeastern Australia based on its success in the Bannerton Photovoltaic Project. In October, the company formed a Korean consortium to carry out Chile's solar power development and help Korean companies enter the Chilean market and signed an MOU on joint development projects with a local developer. It is also actively developing solar power projects in OECD countries such as those in Europe.
Korea Western Power also drew up the New and Renewable Energy 3025 Roadmap that aims to boost the proportion of renewable energy generation in its total energy generation to 25 percent by 2030. By 2030, its power generation capacity will be expanded to 6,112 MW, of which 511 MW, or 8.4 percent, will be based on fuel cells.