South Korea expects to add more than 10 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity each year starting next year, as the government moves to accelerate deployment toward a target of 100 GW by 2030 from the current level of just under 40 GW.
Kim Sung-hwan, minister of climate, energy and environment, said on the 1st at a press briefing marking the ministry's first anniversary that solar projects are being prepared across the country and that a large volume of capacity in the Honam region is waiting for grid connection. "Wind power is also gradually gaining momentum, so we expect more than 10 GW of renewable energy to be added starting next year," he said.
Since its launch last year, the ministry has worked to overhaul regulations and grid issues that have been cited as obstacles to expanding renewable energy. It moved to ease setback distance rules for solar installations, revise the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and reorganize rules governing community solar income programs, while also unveiling measures to make more efficient use of existing transmission lines.
Solar projects take at least six months and in some cases one to two years or more from the start of planning to actual installation. The government believes that project volumes prepared on the basis of regulatory changes and grid improvements will translate into actual capacity additions from next year, and that annual renewable deployment can exceed 10 GW once wind projects also pick up pace.
"It is hard for a plane to take off, but once it does, it can fly far," Kim said. "That is the stage we are at now."
