Korea urged to build renewable energy value chain amid China threat

A solar power plant in Yeonggwang, South Jeolla Province. Korea Times file

By Lee Kyung-min

Korea should fortify its renewable energy value chain to limit disruptions from its current energy procurement strategy that is heavily dependent on China for solar and wind energy production, the nation's business lobby said, Thursday.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said Korea will suffer an extreme energy market dislocation similar to the recent logistics crisis caused by the truckers' strikes and years of COVID-19 pandemic supply chain complications unless backed by efforts to diversify channels of partner energy suppliers.

Experts say renewables are extremely vulnerable to weather conditions and will therefore not be an immediately dependable alternative to fossil fuels or nuclear energy to meet demand stably. This is why they say the country should increase the use of nuclear power until related technologies can help fully guarantee a stable supply of renewables.

The FKI said concerns have been raised that the renewable energy value chains including solar and wind energy could be dominated by China.

"China's influence in the renewable industry will increase in the coming years," the business lobby said. "It accounts for over 95 percent of global supplies of solar wafers and ingots, key materials needed for solar power generation. Six of the 10 global manufacturers of turbines used for power generation are Chinese."

The FKI said nuclear power generation should precede the reduction of fossil fuel power generation. "Renewables account for a mere 6.5 percent of the country's total energy demands as of 2020, a key reason why it cannot replace coal power any time soon."

The long-stalled construction of units 3 and 4 of the Shin Hanul nuclear power plant should be promptly resumed, it said, a critical step for the country's nuclear industry to recover from years of slowdown crippled by the nuclear phase-out policy under the previous administration.

Also in need of long-term government assistance is the hydrogen economy, the next-generation clean energy source that will underpin sustainable growth.

Hydrogen value chains are three-pronged, according to the business lobby, encompassing production, transport and storage and utilization.

Japan and Germany are leaders in production, while France and the U.S. are competitive in transport and storage. Korea, Japan and the U.S. are leading in utilization.

Korea should remove regulatory hurdles and incentivize activities to advance hydrogen technologies, the first step toward gaining a strong foothold in the global market, according to Lee In-ho, former chairman of the Korean Economic Association.

"Advanced economies are mapping out medium- and long-term action plans to strengthen their national capabilities and revitalize the hydrogen economy," he said.

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