Gov’t to double renewable energy capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2030 with expanded infrastructure

Korea plans to more than double its renewable energy capacity to over 100 gigawatts by 2030, expanding power infrastructure and energy storage systems (ESS) to support growing electricity demand, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said Tuesday.

Currently, about 40 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity is available, according to the ministry.

There is an urgent need to expand renewable energy supplies as high-tech industries grow rapidly and electrification accelerates. But a lack of transmission and distribution networks has hindered the wider use of renewable power, the ministry said.

Along with new transmission and distribution networks, the government plans to deploy a large number of ESSs to store excess renewable power for later use in areas where the existing grid is congested.

"The latest measures are aimed at making full use of existing power networks [through ESSs] without waiting for new networks to be built," Climate Minister Kim Sung-whan said.

Yonhap