Recently, there have been two important but contradictory news about Korea’s renewable energy policy. One was the declaration of Samsung Electronics’ RE100 (Renewable Energy 100%), and the other was news that the Moon Jae-in government had uncovered corruption in the solar power business on a large scale.
Samsung’s declaration of 100% renewable energy for corporate energy was actually a step behind the scenes. Global companies such as Google and Apple, as well as 20 domestic companies, have already declared RE100. Samsung Electronics, which consumes the most electricity among the world’s IT manufacturing companies, has been a big concern for several years when it will declare RE100.
The reason Samsung Electronics was hesitant to declare the RE100 is because of the reality of Korea. In April, the British climate and energy think tank ‘Ember’ analyzed the electricity consumption (as of 2020) of 11 domestic companies, and as a result, Samsung Electronics consumed the most power at 26.95 TWh (terawatt hour).
However, in 2020, wind and solar power generation in Korea is only 21.5 TWh. This is about 80% of Samsung Electronics’ electricity usage. The RE100 declaration was a far-fetched task in a situation where even Samsung Electronics could not handle it. This is the reason why Samsung Electronics set the time to achieve RE100 in 2050, 28 years later. Samsung Electronics said, “The domestic renewable energy supply conditions are also unfavorable, but we are taking a ‘challenge’ to contribute to resolving the environmental crisis.”
The current government is walking in the opposite direction to Samsung. expansion of nuclear power plants and reduction of renewable energy. President Yoon Seok-yeol described the Moon Jae-in administration’s nuclear phase-out policy as “five years of stupidity.” The direction of the Yun Seok-yeol government is clearly revealed in the ’10th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand’ announced on August 30 by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
In this plan, the share of nuclear power in the total power generation by 2030 will be raised to 32.8% and that of renewable energy will be lowered to 21.5%. Compared to the Moon Jae-in administration’s ‘National Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target (NDC)’, nuclear power increased by 8.9 percentage points and renewable energy decreased by 8.7 percentage points. Nuclear power plants will become the largest power source in the country.
The problem is the RE100 again. RE100 does not recognize nuclear power as renewable energy. So, recently, there is talk that it is realistic to declare CF100 rather than RE100 mainly in the industry. Here, CF (Carbon Free) means to use a carbon-free power source including nuclear power.
“German government allocates 2% of land to wind power”
However, the CF100 is closer to the hopes of the Korean side. This is because North America and Europe, which are far ahead in renewable energy, have already made RE100 a ‘global standard’ and started ‘pressing’. As a result of a survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 300 domestic manufacturing companies in August, 14.7% of the responding companies were asked to use renewable energy from global partners.
This trend is bound to get even steeper. The RE100 is a reality that is difficult to avoid, given that international credit rating and investment institutions use corporate response to the climate crisis as the main evaluation criterion. Kwon Pil-seok, director of the Green Energy Strategy Research Institute, said, “The world is moving toward the expansion of renewable energy, such as the German government allocating 2% of the country to wind power generation facilities. criticized it.
The Yun Seok-yeol administration is also exploring renewable energy projects promoted during the Moon Jae-in administration. On September 13, the Office of Government Policy Coordination (Office of National Affairs) announced that as a result of a sample survey of 12 basic organizations across the country, there were a total of 2267 cases of illegal and unjustified execution of the solar power project, totaling 261.6 billion won. However, there was something unclear.
According to Rep. Yang Yi Won-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, the announcement did not cover only 12 places across the country. The results of a separate survey of 226 basic organizations across the country were also included. Of the total 261.6 billion won, 184.7 billion won, or 70%, was discovered as a result of a nationwide investigation. The announcement was made for a sample survey of 12 places, but in reality, the results of the nationwide survey were combined. In the press release, the Office of the National Guard used the expression “despite being carried out in 12 places”, further raising suspicions. Apart from the severe punishment for solar corruption, there is no choice but to point out that the announcement was distorted to inflate the scale of solar corruption during the Moon Jae-in administration.
The global economy is facing a tsunami in response to the climate crisis. RE100 is just a prelude. The US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the European carbon border tax, which will come into effect from 2023, are very real threats. Ki-chul Ki, executive director of Purun Asia, an NGO that responds to the climate crisis, said, “A tsunami is coming, and the current government is only shouting ‘Don’t look up’.” Netflix’s ‘Money Lookup’ is a satirical movie that satirizes the political reality of ignoring the crisis, and its eerie ending drew attention.
© EPN