South Korea to cut dependency on fossil fuel a shift to renewable energy

Yonhap reported that South Korea’s industry ministry said that it will significantly cut the country’s dependency on conventional energy sources, such as coal, and move toward environment-friendly resources for sustainable growth. During the public hearing for a draft of the country’s energy master plan, which is renewed every five years with a 20 year goal, the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy said it will expand the portion of renewable sources to around 30 to 35% in its portfolio by 2040, significantly up from 7.6% posted in 2017. The ministry is expected to draw up details on the scope of the reduction in its energy supply plan that will be announced later this year. The proposal is in line with the Moon Jae-in government’s push to move toward clean and safe energy sources to meet the country’s demand for electricity.

The ministry said “The new policy goal will focus on reforming the structure of energy demand instead of expanding the supply to build a high efficiency and low-consumption energy market. To cope with fine dust air pollution and greenhouse gases, the government will drastically reduce power generation from coal by banning new plants and shutting down old facilities. The government will seek to apply liquefied natural gas in more diverse areas and stop construction of new nuclear reactors. In order to maintain the safe management of existing nuclear reactors, the government said it will continue to maintain core capabilities while fostering new areas as a follow-up for the nuclear phase-out policy, such as the reactor decommissioning industry.”

Last year, coal accounted for 41.9% of South Korea’s energy portfolio in terms of power generation, followed by nuclear with 23.4% and LNG with 26.8%

Source : YONHAP