South Korea will expand renewable energy capacity to 220 gigawatts by 2040, the government said. Assuming utilization rates of 80% for nuclear power, 20% for solar and 30% for wind, that is roughly the amount of electricity 45 nuclear reactors could generate. Experts support expanding renewables but warn that relying on intermittent sources without adequate transmission networks could further destabilize the power grid. Plans for new nuclear reactors will be released in September.
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced the renewable energy outlook at a public policy forum on the 6th and 12th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand, held on the 26th at KEPCO's Southwest Seoul headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul.
Cumulative solar capacity, which stood at about 31 GW at the end of last year, will rise to 87 GW in 2030 and 155 GW in 2040. Wind capacity will expand mainly through offshore projects. Offshore wind accounted for just 16.7% of the country's 2.4 GW of wind capacity at the end of 2025, but will make up 74% of total wind capacity of 61 GW by 2040.
Nuclear and liquefied natural gas capacity are also expected to grow substantially despite the renewables push, as power demand for the three mega projects and other initiatives surges. When the 11th electricity plan was drawn up last year, power demand for 2038 was projected at 129.3 GW. The government's recently announced figure for 2040 reached as high as 165 GW. Factoring in the efficiency of renewable generation, more than 6 GW of demand will still have to be covered by other sources — a level requiring four to five additional 1.4 GW nuclear reactors.
"Semiconductor fabs and artificial intelligence data centers have power demand that varies little over 24 hours, so it is advantageous to meet it with sources that can supply electricity stably," an industry official said.
