The government of South Korea has unveiled new plans for the country to boost its solar energy generation 5 times over by 2030, as revealed by the country’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The news follows on earlier campaign promises by the relatively new President, Moon Jae-in — campaign promises to cease support for new nuclear energy projects and to embrace “eco friendly” energy modalities. The new president has more or less kept his word, as the government has now cancelled plans for 6 new nuclear reactors.
That said, South Korea still represents the 5th largest nuclear energy user in the world — with a total of 24 nuclear reactors now active in the country, altogether meeting around a third of its electricity demand.
Commenting on the plans, the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, Paik Un-gyu, stated: “We will fundamentally change the way renewable energy is developed by creating an environment where the public can easily participate in the renewable energy business.”
Reuters provides more: “South Korea plans to provide a fifth of the country’s total amount of electricity from renewable energy by 2030, up from 7% in 2016. To meet that goal, it plans to add 30.8 gigawatts (GW) of solar power generating capacity and 16.5 GW of wind power capacity by 2030. As of 2017, South Korea has 5.7 GW of generating capacity from solar power and 1.2 GW from wind power.
“The additional capacity will come from major projects, as well as by converting individual households, farms, and small businesses to renewable energy, the ministry said.”
The government is apparently now aiming for approximately 1 out of every 30 households to be equipped with solar energy systems by 2022. That’s certainly an interesting goal, isn’t it? Quite a divergence from where politics are headed in the great old USA it would seem…
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