Publications

Publications

Research TopicsPublicationsDatabase
Back to Publications
Report
2023.04.18
1749

Korean Power System Challenges and Opportunities: Priorities for Swift and Successful Clean Energy Deployment at Scale

Authors:LBNL,,,University of California,Berkeley,,NEXT group,
Korean Power System Challenges and Opportunities: Priorities for Swift and Successful Clean Energy Deployment at Scale
With South Korea’s electricity demand expected to grow 30% by 2035, transitioning to clean energy resources will be critical in reducing the electric sector emissions and achieving national climate goals. Rapid technological improvements can help keep costs low and maintain grid reliability, if Korea’s government takes a coordinated approach to the clean energy transition. This policy brief identifies key barriers to Korea’s shift toward clean energy, based on the authors’companion report (A Clean Energy Korea by 2035: Transitioning to 80% Carbon-Free Electricity Generation), interviews with experts, and the most recent data and literature. It then explores policy solutions for overcoming these technological, economic, and institutional barriers, and suggests market transformation strategies to speed the adoption of clean energy technologies. Amid ongoing cost and technological improvements in wind, solar, and energy storage, advancing this report’s recommended policy actions with maximum coordination among government officials can meaningfully accelerate Korea’s clean energy transition.

To meet rising electricity demand and emissions reduction goals, Korea will need to address multiple challenges related to system reliability, energy storage capacity, grid connectivity, power market structure, and local acceptance.

As fossil fuel generation decreases and renewable energy increases, maintaining system stability will require new reliability standards, including measures for system inertia, voltage control, and monitoring systems.

Transmission congestion and delays in grid interconnection remain major barriers, driven by limited infrastructure, planning bottlenecks, and local opposition, highlighting the need for proactive planning and expansion of transmission networks.

High renewable energy costs, insufficient incentives, and current market structures further constrain deployment, while underdeveloped energy storage systems and regulatory gaps limit system flexibility.

The report emphasizes that coordinated policy actions—including grid expansion, market reform, energy storage support, and early stakeholder engagement—are essential to overcoming these barriers and accelerating clean energy deployment.

< Table of Contents >

Executive Summary

1.  Introduction

2.  System Reliability

     2.1 System Inertia

     2.2 Reactive Power and Voltage Service

3. Congestion Management and Grid Interconnection

     3.1 Congestion Management

     3.2 Grid Interconnection

4. Local Priorities

5. Technical and Economic Feasibility

6. Grid Energy Storage

7. Market Reform

8. Conclusions and Areas for Further Research

References

#Korean Power System#Clean Energy Transition