South Korea's installed renewable energy capacity has surpassed coal-fired capacity for the first time. Renewables now trail liquefied natural gas, the country's largest power source, by just 5.75 gigawatts, prompting forecasts that they could take the top spot as early as next year.
The Korea Power Exchange said total installed renewable capacity reached 41.04 gigawatts as of the 21st, accounting for 25.4% of all power generation capacity. That is 283 megawatts more than coal-fired capacity of 40.76 gigawatts. It is the first time cumulative renewable capacity has exceeded coal.
Renewable energy refers to power converted from renewable sources including sunlight, water, geothermal heat, precipitation and biomass.
The exchange said renewables will soon overtake fossil fuels to become the country's leading power source, given the recent pace of growth. LNG currently ranks first at 46.79 gigawatts, leaving a gap of 5.75 gigawatts with renewables. Nuclear power accounts for 26.05 gigawatts in operation across five generation complexes nationwide.
Renewable capacity grew by an average of about 3.5 gigawatts a year between the end of 2020 and the end of 2025, according to the exchange. That is equivalent to installing 2.5 APR1400 nuclear reactors across the country every year. At that pace, renewable capacity would catch up with LNG around August 2028.
The government, however, is concentrating policy resources on a target of 100 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2030. Meeting that goal would require adding roughly 15 gigawatts of renewable capacity to the grid each year starting next year. Over that period, large offshore wind farms are set to begin commercial operation alongside solar power, which has long made up the vast majority of the country's renewable capacity. "Considering the government's target, at least 10 gigawatts of renewable capacity will have to come online next year," an industry official said.
