Korea Faces 'Saettonggwang' Controversy... US and Europe Sprint Ahead [Reading Science]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-su] Recently, skeptical voices have been raised regarding solar power, a means of spreading renewable energy. There have been criticisms that the Saemangeum solar power plant's demonstration facilities are not operating properly due to bird droppings, and news that Seoul's veranda solar power project is being completely halted because companies have deliberately closed down, making repairs and after-sales guarantees impossible. What is the situation overseas?

◇The Race Toward 'Solar Energy'

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, solar power generation is rapidly increasing. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, solar energy?including solar photovoltaic and solar thermal?currently accounts for only 3% of total power generation in the United States, but it represents 39% of the newly added generation capacity this year, showing rapid growth. Last year, 19.3 GW of solar photovoltaic direct current capacity was added, setting a record high. The U.S. solar energy sector has grown at an average annual rate of 49% over the past decade. Consequently, the cost of solar power generation has also decreased, reaching a competitive level with coal and natural gas at $29?42 per megawatt-hour (approximately 33,000?48,000 KRW).

This is because the U.S. federal and state governments have consistently invested in energy security since the oil crisis of the 1970s and have recently promoted the development and dissemination of solar energy technologies through various policy incentives to combat climate warming. These include tax credits and subsidies, mandates in some states to maintain a certain proportion of renewable energy in total power generation, credits for renewable energy, and support for the difference in cost compared to traditional power generation methods.

The European Union (EU) is similar. According to KOTRA, the European Solar Energy Association reported that the newly installed solar power capacity in EU member countries last year was 18.2 GW, an 11% increase from the previous year. This is the highest capacity since 21.4 GW in 2011. By country, Germany (4.8 GW), the Netherlands (2.8 GW), Spain (2.6 GW), Poland (2.2 GW), and France (0.9 GW) are the main contributors, accounting for 74% of the EU's total solar power installation capacity. The plan is to add an average of 19.8 GW of solar power facilities annually over the next 10 years.

Moreover, Germany and Poland plan to hold public competitive bidding for large-scale solar power projects, and net-metering systems will be introduced in Turkey, Poland, and the Netherlands. This system allows small-scale solar power facilities to be installed and consumed directly, with surplus electricity sold back to power companies to receive discounts on electricity bills. As a result, solar power development is expected to accelerate further over the next five years.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◇Global Warming, Time Is Running Out

Recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), under the United Nations (UN), announced that the deadline to keep the global temperature rise within 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels?the threshold that humans and nature can endure?has been moved up by more than 10 years, from 2050 to 2040. Last summer, North America suffered from an unprecedented heatwave reaching 40 degrees Celsius and wildfires. Central European plains, including Germany and Belgium, experienced floods, increasing the costs of climate extremes caused by warming. The World Meteorological Organization recently submitted a report stating that economic losses from climate disasters in the 2010s were seven times higher than in the 1970s.

Major countries are even showing moves to strengthen trade barriers under the pretext of climate change response. In July, the EU announced the 'Carbon Neutrality Package,' aiming to reduce carbon emissions to 55% of 1990 levels, and introduced a carbon border tax. While the stated purpose is to protect the planet from climate warming, it is also a form of protectionism. For Korean companies, which consider the EU a major export market, this is an urgent issue. Currently, South Korea ranks 8th in the world for carbon emissions, and if this continues, it will have to pay $1.06 billion (approximately 1.2 trillion KRW) annually in carbon border taxes. This is why solar energy must be addressed not as an ideological issue of progressivism or conservatism but as a matter of science and practicality.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.