Wind Energy in South Korea
2022 wind energy numbers
Having installed 96 MW capacity of wind turbines in 2022, the accumulated capacity in Korea reached 1809 MW at the end of 2022. In October 2020, it was announced that the Republic of Korea aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The new government starting in 2022, also announced to maintain the carbon neutrality target year and renewable energy deployment goals, 33% of the electricity generation by 2036. The wind energy sector in Korea, which has shown slower deployment than photovoltaics, is preparing largescale installation of wind energy especially in offshore wind for the energy transition.
To learn more about wind energy in Korea, please review their chapter in the IEA Wind TCP 2022 Annual Report.
National Targets
At the end of 2017, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced the “Renewable Energy 2030 Implementation Plan” which states the national renewable energy target and its implementation plans towards 2030. The national objective is 20% renewable energy generation of the national electricity demand by 2030 [1].
According to that plan, 63.8 GW of renewable capacity is required to meet the target of 20% of national electricity demand, by 2030 [1]. Among various renewable energy sources, PV and wind will lead the capacity. PV accounts for 36.5 GW (57%) and wind for 17.7 GW (28%) capacity by 2030 [1].
At the end of 2022, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced the latest 10th Basic Plan for Long-Term Energy Supply and Demand, including the national renewable energy target and plans towards 2036. The renewable energy generation objective is 33% of the national electricity demand by 2036 [2].
Progress & Operational Details
96 MW wind turbine capacity was installed in 2022—35% higher than the previous year but still slow deployment [5]. Six wind farms with 20 wind turbines are installed in 2022 and all of them are land-based projects [5]. The average capacity of one single WTG installed in 2021 was 4.78 MW, including one 8MW prototype wind turbine [5].
The total installed wind capacity in the country reached 1,809 MW by the end of 2022—a 4.8% increase from the previous year [5]. There are 115 wind farms with 779 WTGs in total. In 2022, the electricity generated from wind power was 3.348 TWh (provisional) which accounted for 0.6% of the national electricity demand (550.694 TWh, provisional) [6].
According to the Electricity Business License (EBL) by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, a total of 20,709MW offshore wind projects have received the EBL at 68 locations at the end of 2022 [4].
National RDD Priorities and Budget
In Korea, one of the R,D&D priorities has been the development of wind turbine generators and its major components for the value chain of wind industry. Also, the development of smart O&M strategies and technologies for the reduction of LCOE was important—especially in the offshore sector.
Recently the topics of social acceptance and safety issues are being emphasised. Also R,D&D activities about the deployment of wind farms and the reduction of LCOE will be continued. National Research Initiatives and Results
A project titled “Development of 8MW High Capacity Offshore Wind Turbine” is successfully finished. Also a project titled “Development of recycling technology using recyclable resin of wind turbine blades (‘22~’25)” was launched in 2022.
Another project “Development of the localized technology for pre-piling to reduce the construction cost of sub-structures in the large scale of offshore windfarms (‘21~’24)” and “Development of Design Technology for TLP-type Floating Offshore Wind Turbine System and Scaled Model Test Technique (‘22 ~ ’25)” are in progress.