8 BETWEEN THE RHETORIC AND THE REALITY: RENEWABLE ENERGY …
189
Technological Development. According to the 2013 Delphi survey of
500 experts by the Korea Energy Economics Institute, Korean levels of
renewable energy technologies are assessed to be 86% of the best technologies available around the world. This is roughly a 10% gap with the
technology levels of the US (96.7%) and Japan (96.5%). This level of technology can be considered a substantial improvement over the past goals,
as the cross-ministry goal of technology development goal for new and
renewable energy was merely 76.7% (MOEST 2010). Another technology
level assessment published as part of the annual National Technology
Level Assessment evaluated the level of South Korea’s solar energy technology to be 80.7% for basic research, 90.9% for applied research, and
80.8% for technological deployment (Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning 2013). South Korea also turns out to
rank second on the number of patent applications for solar PV and
seventh for wind energy for the period of 2000~2013, according to our
own analysis using OECD Patents Statistics. 3
Renewable Energy Adoption in South Korea
Despite various proactive policy measures and the aggressive promotion
of renewable energy technology over the past three decades, the level
of renewable adoption is quite low in South Korea. Measured in terms
of renewable energy as a share of total primary energy or the share of
renewable sources in electricity generation, South Korea ranks the lowest
among OECD members as shown in the two figures of the introduction.
This gap between the government’s promotion of renewable energy and
the actual diffusion of renewable energy is particularly disturbing given
that South Korea is one of the largest energy consumers. As of 2016,
South Korea ranks 7th in electricity consumption after China, the US,
India, Japan, Russia, and Germany. Why is renewable energy adoption
so low despite strong effort to facilitate the use and diffusion of renewable energy? This section tackles the puzzle in two aspects—political and
economic dimensions of renewable energy adoption.
Political Dimension. There are three political aspects underlying the
slow diffusion of renewable energy in South Korea. One can be traced
to the scope of renewable energy, which has been politically ambiguous
from the start in the history of renewable energy policy in South
Korea. While the three acts explained in the previous section created
legal grounds for the government to intervene in the private sector for
189
Technological Development. According to the 2013 Delphi survey of
500 experts by the Korea Energy Economics Institute, Korean levels of
renewable energy technologies are assessed to be 86% of the best technologies available around the world. This is roughly a 10% gap with the
technology levels of the US (96.7%) and Japan (96.5%). This level of technology can be considered a substantial improvement over the past goals,
as the cross-ministry goal of technology development goal for new and
renewable energy was merely 76.7% (MOEST 2010). Another technology
level assessment published as part of the annual National Technology
Level Assessment evaluated the level of South Korea’s solar energy technology to be 80.7% for basic research, 90.9% for applied research, and
80.8% for technological deployment (Korea Institute of Science and Technology Evaluation and Planning 2013). South Korea also turns out to
rank second on the number of patent applications for solar PV and
seventh for wind energy for the period of 2000~2013, according to our
own analysis using OECD Patents Statistics. 3
Renewable Energy Adoption in South Korea
Despite various proactive policy measures and the aggressive promotion
of renewable energy technology over the past three decades, the level
of renewable adoption is quite low in South Korea. Measured in terms
of renewable energy as a share of total primary energy or the share of
renewable sources in electricity generation, South Korea ranks the lowest
among OECD members as shown in the two figures of the introduction.
This gap between the government’s promotion of renewable energy and
the actual diffusion of renewable energy is particularly disturbing given
that South Korea is one of the largest energy consumers. As of 2016,
South Korea ranks 7th in electricity consumption after China, the US,
India, Japan, Russia, and Germany. Why is renewable energy adoption
so low despite strong effort to facilitate the use and diffusion of renewable energy? This section tackles the puzzle in two aspects—political and
economic dimensions of renewable energy adoption.
Political Dimension. There are three political aspects underlying the
slow diffusion of renewable energy in South Korea. One can be traced
to the scope of renewable energy, which has been politically ambiguous
from the start in the history of renewable energy policy in South
Korea. While the three acts explained in the previous section created
legal grounds for the government to intervene in the private sector for