Korea's 12th Power Supply Plan Reveals Renewable Energy Outlook to 2040

Original Korean article: Environmental Daily

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the steering committee for the 12th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand (Basic Plan) will discuss renewable energy supply prospects through 2040. The future supply scale of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power will be disclosed, and measures to expand supply in response to national carbon neutrality and industry's demand for zero-carbon electricity will be sought.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (Minister Kim Seong-hwan) and the steering committee for establishing the 12th Basic Plan (Chair Jang Gil-su) announced that it will hold the 6th public policy forum for establishing the 12th Basic Plan on the theme of "renewable energy supply prospects" on the 26th at the auditorium of Korea Electric Power Corporation's South Seoul headquarters.

Purpose and Scope of the Forum

The forum has been prepared to review the domestic supply status of renewable energy, which is expanding globally in response to climate crisis and strengthened energy security, and to present and discuss renewable energy supply prospects through 2040 as it has emerged as a mainstay power source for future electricity.

In particular, at this forum, provisional targets for renewable energy supply by source—including solar and wind power—through 2040, calculated through discussions by the 12th Basic Plan steering committee and working groups, will be made public.

Renewable Energy as Strategic Priority

Renewable energy is identified as a key means for achieving carbon neutrality and implementing the nation's greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC), while also drawing attention as a major power source that will determine energy security and national competitiveness.

Recently, demand for 100% renewable energy use (RE100) has expanded centered on domestic export companies, and large-scale zero-carbon electricity demand from advanced industries such as artificial intelligence data centers and semiconductor mega clusters is also increasing, making timely and sufficient renewable energy supply directly linked to industrial competitiveness.

Accordingly, in the process of establishing the 12th Basic Plan, discussions have been held on ways to increase the feasibility of supply prospects by utilizing policy tools and forecasting models to expand renewable energy supply.

Public Engagement and Next Steps

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the steering committee plan to broadly gather opinions from experts and the public through this forum, review the presented opinions, and actively reflect them in the process of establishing the 12th Basic Plan.

The forum will be held in both on-site and online livestream formats. The online livestream will begin at 4 p.m. on the 26th, and any interested member of the public may participate and present opinions.

On-site attendance will be conducted through advance registration via the Korea Energy Agency website.

KWI developer profile — Korea Electric Power Corporation

6 projects in Korea totalling 500+ MW. Compiled from the KWI database. Not part of the source article.

Hanlim Offshore Wind

Seonamhea Phase2 Offshore Wind

Jeonnam 11 OWIZ (KEPCO) Offshore Wind

Jeonnam 4 OWIZ (KEPCO) Offshore Wind

Jeonnam 5 OWIZ (KEPCO) Offshore Wind

ES-26 Offshore Wind

Project data: KWI database — Electricity Business Licence records, EIA filings (ME2021C006), Electricity Regulatory Commission minutes, and pre-EBL permit filings.