8 BETWEEN THE RHETORIC AND THE REALITY: RENEWABLE ENERGY …
193
announced by the new president on June 19, 2017, the day of shutdown
of South Korea’s first nuclear power plant, Gori Number One.
As the Moon administration actively promoted energy transition in
2017, the South Korean government has set more aggressive goals for
renewable energy adoption. As to the distribution of renewable energy
sources, the most distinctive features of the new energy policy are twofold.
First, a more ambitious target was set for electricity generation from
renewables. The so-called Renewable Energy 3020 announced by the
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in December 2017, included
the plan to increase renewable energy to 20% by the year 2030 by
investing 18 trillion won from the national budget and 92 trillion won
from facility investment (which combines funds from public institutions, private sectors, financial institutions, cooperatives, and individual
investors). According to the 3020 Plan, the amount of renewable energy
capacity would increase from 13.3 GW (2016) to 27.5 GW (2022), and
eventually to 63.8 GW (2030). Moreover, over 95% of the newly built
energy facilities would consist of solar (63%) or wind (34%) energy if the
plan is successful.
Second, the government has promised to increase its support for
renewable energy generation by increasing the RPS goal as well as financial support for solar energy. The RPS goal was revised from originally
10% by 2023 to 28% by 2030 to promote large-scale renewable energy
projects such as on-shore and off-shore wind power generations, and
floating photovoltaic panels. The 3020 Plan made some changes to the
REC system, by providing incentives for energy produced by participatory citizen funds or social corporations. The plan also proposed to boost
financial support on solar energy panels in an urban landscape, by temporally (5-year plan) introducing the FIT to support individual or small-scale
production of renewable energy.
In addition to these two notable proposals, the 3020 Plan added
the “New Energy Industry Promotions,” which entails infrastructural
plans such as energy storage systems (ESS), fuel cells, and Internet
of Things (IoT), with the expectation that IoT and ESS technologies
would open up new coordination of energy sources, including decentralized power sources, energy-broker markets, and real-time energy demand
management systems. In particular, the development of a smart grid to
link diverse sources of renewable energy is at the center of renewable
energy infrastructure. According to the Second Smart Grid Power Plan
193
announced by the new president on June 19, 2017, the day of shutdown
of South Korea’s first nuclear power plant, Gori Number One.
As the Moon administration actively promoted energy transition in
2017, the South Korean government has set more aggressive goals for
renewable energy adoption. As to the distribution of renewable energy
sources, the most distinctive features of the new energy policy are twofold.
First, a more ambitious target was set for electricity generation from
renewables. The so-called Renewable Energy 3020 announced by the
Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in December 2017, included
the plan to increase renewable energy to 20% by the year 2030 by
investing 18 trillion won from the national budget and 92 trillion won
from facility investment (which combines funds from public institutions, private sectors, financial institutions, cooperatives, and individual
investors). According to the 3020 Plan, the amount of renewable energy
capacity would increase from 13.3 GW (2016) to 27.5 GW (2022), and
eventually to 63.8 GW (2030). Moreover, over 95% of the newly built
energy facilities would consist of solar (63%) or wind (34%) energy if the
plan is successful.
Second, the government has promised to increase its support for
renewable energy generation by increasing the RPS goal as well as financial support for solar energy. The RPS goal was revised from originally
10% by 2023 to 28% by 2030 to promote large-scale renewable energy
projects such as on-shore and off-shore wind power generations, and
floating photovoltaic panels. The 3020 Plan made some changes to the
REC system, by providing incentives for energy produced by participatory citizen funds or social corporations. The plan also proposed to boost
financial support on solar energy panels in an urban landscape, by temporally (5-year plan) introducing the FIT to support individual or small-scale
production of renewable energy.
In addition to these two notable proposals, the 3020 Plan added
the “New Energy Industry Promotions,” which entails infrastructural
plans such as energy storage systems (ESS), fuel cells, and Internet
of Things (IoT), with the expectation that IoT and ESS technologies
would open up new coordination of energy sources, including decentralized power sources, energy-broker markets, and real-time energy demand
management systems. In particular, the development of a smart grid to
link diverse sources of renewable energy is at the center of renewable
energy infrastructure. According to the Second Smart Grid Power Plan