Korean Government Aims to More than Triple Renewable Energy-based Power Generation

The South Korean government released details of its Green New Deal project on July 16. According to the details, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 12.29 million tons by 2025. To this end, the capacity of renewable energy-based power generation will be more than tripled. The ultimate purpose of the project is to achieve a carbon-neutral society, that is, zero net carbon emissions.

Specifically, industrial complexes across South Korea, which account for 77 percent of its industrial greenhouse gas emissions, will be turned into low-carbon and green industrial complexes. In this subproject, smart energy platforms will be set up in 10 complexes by 2025 so that the complexes can use fuel cells and energy storage systems and require no energy from the outside. In another subproject, 1.13 million electric vehicles and 200,000 hydrogen vehicles will be put to use by 2025 and the number of hydrogen vehicle charging stations will be increased to 450 by the same year.

The capacity of renewable energy-based power generation facilities will be increased from the current level of 12.7 GW to 42.7 GW. In addition, profit sharing with locals will be introduced so that the installation of such facilities can be facilitated.

The ratio of the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for major power companies’ mandatory purchase of electricity produced by solar power operators in the private sector will be increased to 10 percent by 2022 and the upper limit of the purchase will be adjusted through revision of laws. A campaign will be launched so that enterprises no longer require electricity generated by non-renewable energy sources.

Some experts point out that the government is immersed in greenhouse gas emission reduction and pushing ahead with the Green New Deal project without considering the relatively lower economic efficiency of renewable energy. They  also note that the announcement is rather a kind of declaration in that it lacks specific reduction plans for the goal of becoming carbon-neutral.