[Feature] "Domestic Market Gap"... Korea Must Accelerate Technological Self-Sufficiency in Hydropower and Pumped-Storage

[Energy Industry in Crisis] ① Assessing the Current Status of Localization

Triple Challenges: Fisher Complaints, Environmental Reviews, and Regulations Stall Offshore Wind

AI-Driven Surge in Power Demand... Hydropower and Pumped-Storage Emer

Offshore wind power was once spotlighted as a core energy source for the era of carbon neutrality. However, the widespread stagnation in the domestic offshore wind market is the result of several overlapping factors: collective complaints from fishermen concerned about large-scale damage to fisheries, delays in environmental impact assessments, and the tightening of site regulations.

If even hydropower and pumped-storage, which are attracting attention as another pillar of the renewable energy transition, fail to achieve technological self-sufficiency, the gap in energy security will inevitably deepen. With the domestic hydropower facility market expected to exceed 3 trillion won over the next 10 years, this three-part series will examine the current state and challenges of localization. - Editor's Note -

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Offshore wind power is now facing the risk of collapse. Once considered a key driver of the carbon neutrality transition, offshore wind has entered a state of practical stagnation, caught in a triple bind: collective complaints from the fishing industry, delayed environmental impact assessments, and stricter site regulations. Some projects have not even managed to clear regulatory bottlenecks for years.

In this environment, the energy industry is refocusing its attention on hydropower and pumped-storage. These technologies are among the few capable of both expanding renewable energy and stabilizing the power grid. There is a growing sense of urgency within the industry that, even if offshore wind remains stalled, pumped-storage and hydropower must gain momentum to fill the gap in energy transition.

Hydropower is a baseload power source that converts the potential energy from rivers and lakes into electricity. Pumped-storage serves as a 'large-scale battery,' using surplus nighttime electricity to pump water to an upper reservoir, then releasing it to generate power during peak demand periods. Both types of facilities rely on the same hydro turbine technology and share a common technology platform in terms of design, manufacturing, and operation.

The more the share of variable renewables like solar and wind increases, the more critical the grid-stabilizing role of pumped-storage becomes. Solar output fluctuates with every passing cloud, while wind output wavers with every gust. Among large-scale energy storage solutions that can buffer such volatility, pumped-storage remains the most technologically and economically viable option at present.

The rapid proliferation of AI data centers is fundamentally changing power demand forecasts. Electricity consumption is rising to levels that break the assumptions of previous demand prediction models. This has heightened the value of predictable and stable clean power sources more than ever before.

Hydropower and pumped-storage facilities meet this demand precisely. Their stable output, unaffected by weather, fast start-up capabilities, and proven technological reliability from long-term operation are well-suited to the power quality required by AI infrastructure. Currently in Korea, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power operates 37 medium and large-scale hydropower and pumped-storage units, Korea Water Resources Corporation runs 20 units, and 215 small-scale hydro facilities are in operation nationwide.

The problem is that the core technologies for these strategically important facilities are still sourced from overseas. Since the initial construction of domestic hydropower and pumped-storage plants in the 1970s, Korea has depended on foreign technology. The global supply market is dominated by a handful of companies: Toshiba, Hitachi-Mitsubishi, and Fuji Electric of Japan, along with Andritz (Austria), Voith (Germany), and Alstom (France) in Europe.

Recently, China and India have been rapidly enhancing their technological capabilities, leveraging their abundant domestic hydropower markets. China, in particular, is on the verge of entering overseas markets with a low-cost offensive backed by state subsidies. The longer Korea delays its response, the smaller the space becomes for domestic companies.

Hwang Youngho, CEO of Shinhan Precision, a leading holder of hydropower technology in Korea, commented, "Hydropower facility technology is already more than a century old, so a gap with the leading players is inevitable. Overcoming this gap requires either a naturally infinite market, as seen in India or China, or a strong will from power plant operators to build a technology tree and strategically secure technology, which can then encourage active participation from relevant companies."

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