South Korea’s renewables investments are expected to exceed $46 billion by 2030.
Today, South Korea generates 7% of its total energy from renewables of which only 3% is from wind and solar, according to research firm Wood Mackenzie.
Two-thirds of power in South Korea is supplied from gas and coal.
The $46 billion anticipated renewables investments by 2030 are expected to expand the country’s share of renewable energy in the energy mix to 20%.
New wind and solar power projects are already becoming competitive with gas power today, and are expected to be able to compete directly with coal-fired power in South Korea by 2025.
Research director at Wood Mackenzie, Alex Whitworth, said: “South Korea has lagged behind other countries in renewable deployments to date but declining costs and the ‘New Green Deal’ initiative will help the country to catch up in the next decade.
“Over $46 billion will be invested in South Korea’s renewables sector by 2030, quadrupling the share of wind and solar in generation to 13%. Another 6% will be sourced from biomass and other renewables taking South Korea to 19%, just shy of its 20% target.
“By 2030 new utility-scale solar and onshore wind will be 20% cheaper than coal-fired power, while offshore wind and distributed solar will both be cheaper than gas-fired power. Lower renewables costs will help South Korea displace fossil fuels with cleaner power, while still maintaining stable end-user power prices.
“These remarkable technology changes are fundamentally reshaping South Korea’s power industry. Beyond 2030 we expect subsidy-free renewables investments in South Korea to accelerate further.”
