[Energy-topia] Europe Wasting Electricity Is Not Someone Else's Problem

Expansion of Renewable Energy Driven by Numbers Alone

Transmission Network Growth Lags Far Behind Generation Capacity

Strengthen Infrastructure Before Forcing Corporate Relocation

The Korea Power Exchange has designated the period from February 28 to June 14 as the "Power Grid Stabilization Measures Period" and is operating accordingly. During this period, if the power grid becomes unstable, output control will be implemented for non-centralized power generators. This means that if the output from renewable energy sources such as solar power exceeds demand, output will be curtailed to prevent instability in the power grid. In fact, the Korea Power Exchange has announced that it will implement output control for land-based solar power generation during the daytime on a total of six days this month.

The Korea Power Exchange is a public institution responsible for ensuring a stable power supply. In the past, employees of the Korea Power Exchange were anxious about potential power shortages during the high-demand summer months, but the situation has changed in recent years. Now, the so-called "off-peak" periods, when electricity demand is low and not in summer, have become emergency work periods. The power grid can supply electricity stably only when supply matches demand. In spring and autumn, demand is low but supply can temporarily increase, raising concerns about grid instability. The main reason behind this shift is solar power generation.

Renewable energy accounts for just over 10% of Korea's total power generation, which is far below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of about 30%. The government plans to increase this share to over 20% by 2030 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Even at current levels, solar power generation sometimes exceeds demand during off-peak periods, causing instability in the power grid. The question is, what will happen if the share rises to 20%?

Looking at Europe, where renewable energy generation is higher than in Korea, provides a glimpse of our future. According to Bloomberg News, as Europe enters the summer season, output control for solar power is occurring more frequently. The outlet forecasts that over the next several months, 40 terawatt-hours (TWh) of renewable energy will be unable to connect to the grid and will be wasted. This is a 25% increase compared to last year and is equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of the city of London.

Output control of renewable energy causes inefficiency in two ways. First, the government provides various subsidies to promote renewable energy sources such as solar power. However, if the electricity produced cannot be fed into the grid, these government subsidies are wasted. In addition, when the power authorities order output control, compensation is paid to the power plants that comply. Ultimately, these costs are passed on to consumers through higher electricity rates. Octopus Energy in the UK estimated that the amount of wind power wasted in the country due to output limitations in 2025 alone will reach 1.46702 billion pounds (about 2.9322 trillion won).

In Europe, where there has been excessive investment in renewable energy, oversupply has even led to negative pricing schemes. This means that even if solar power plants generate electricity, they do not receive payment for it. Bloomberg News reported that "projects that seemed stable just a few years ago are now being re-evaluated," highlighting the declining profitability of solar power businesses.

The Lee Jaemyung administration has set a goal of expanding renewable energy capacity to 100GW by 2030. To achieve this, 10 to 12GW or more of new renewable energy must be installed every year for the next six years, starting this year. This is equivalent to installing solar panels covering the area of 20 soccer fields every day. To meet this target, the government is actively seeking available sites for installation, including the rooftops of industrial complexes, agrivoltaics, and floating solar power plants.

However, simply increasing the amount of renewable energy installations does not solve the problem. Without the necessary power infrastructure, some renewable energy will inevitably have to be wasted because it cannot be connected to the power grid. According to the National Assembly Futures Institute, as of May 2025, the nationwide backlog of grid connection requests has already reached 8.9GW, with 4.2GW concentrated in the Honam region.

Over the past 30 years, domestic power generation facility capacity has increased by 535%, but transmission facility capacity has only increased by 153%. Most new generation facilities are small-scale renewable plants concentrated in certain regions such as Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do. As a result, output control in the Honam region has been frequent to maintain grid stability, leading to growing dissatisfaction among small-scale solar power operators. Although a special law for power grid expansion was enacted to speed up transmission network construction by improving local acceptance, the situation has not improved. Recently, some have even argued that semiconductor industrial complexes should be located in the region to utilize the surplus renewable energy in Honam.

There is general agreement that renewable energy must be expanded to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, if the electricity produced from increased renewable energy cannot be properly connected to the power grid, it may lead to adverse effects. If the focus remains solely on expanding renewable energy installations without considering the power grid, the current regional concentration issue will only intensify. Forcibly relocating healthy companies to different regions in the name of solving this imbalance is not a viable solution.

Now is the time to develop realistic plans that take the power grid into account, rather than pursuing renewable energy expansion policies that are fixated only on numbers.

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