A 10-megawatt wind turbine is installed at Phase 1 of the Jeonnam Offshore Wind Farm in public waters northwest of Jaeun Island in Sinan County, South Jeolla Province. [Photo=Yonhap]
As resource security concerns grow amid war in the Middle East, a state-run research institute said South Korea needs a stable supply of materials, parts and technology to ensure reliable renewable power generation. It called for a shift to long-term contracts for solar power and for removing institutional barriers that slow wind projects.
The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade released the recommendations on 28 in a report titled, "Measures to Strengthen the Competitiveness of Korea’s Renewable Energy Industry From a Resource Security Perspective."
The institute said recent instability around the Strait of Hormuz has exposed structural vulnerabilities in an energy system centered on fossil fuels. It added that persistent geopolitical tensions, the spread of artificial intelligence data centers and an accelerating green transition are broadening the resource security debate to the entire energy and power-generation system.
It said renewables are durable facilities used for long periods after installation, making them harder to protect through stockpiling or diversifying import sources alone, as with fossil fuels. With rapid technological change and varied standards, strengthening the domestic industrial base can be a more practical response, it said.
The institute pointed to limits in Korea’s industrial base despite pressure to expand deployment, citing wind power as a key example. As of the end of 2024, domestically made wind turbines accounted for 47.5%, and the share could fall further as offshore wind expands, it said.
For wind, the institute urged action to ease nonprice bottlenecks such as permitting and military operational assessments. It said resolving difficulties tied to those assessments, securing dedicated ports, expanding installation and maintenance vessel capacity, and reinforcing grid infrastructure would improve predictability for project execution.
It also called for institutional changes for solar power, saying a structure centered on the spot market for renewable energy certificates, or RECs, increases price volatility and strengthens incentives to adopt low-priced imports, weakening investment and production conditions for domestic manufacturers. It said the government’s push to shift to a supply system centered on bidding and long-term contracts is also justified from a resource security standpoint, and recommended considering supplementary measures such as a public track during the transition.
Lee Seul-gi, a research fellow at the institute’s New Industry Strategy Research Division, said in the report, "While the domestic industrial base is important in strengthening renewable energy resource security, selective and strategic policy intervention that respects market functions is more desirable."
The Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade released the recommendations on 28 in a report titled, "Measures to Strengthen the Competitiveness of Korea’s Renewable Energy Industry From a Resource Security Perspective."
The institute said recent instability around the Strait of Hormuz has exposed structural vulnerabilities in an energy system centered on fossil fuels. It added that persistent geopolitical tensions, the spread of artificial intelligence data centers and an accelerating green transition are broadening the resource security debate to the entire energy and power-generation system.
It said renewables are durable facilities used for long periods after installation, making them harder to protect through stockpiling or diversifying import sources alone, as with fossil fuels. With rapid technological change and varied standards, strengthening the domestic industrial base can be a more practical response, it said.
The institute pointed to limits in Korea’s industrial base despite pressure to expand deployment, citing wind power as a key example. As of the end of 2024, domestically made wind turbines accounted for 47.5%, and the share could fall further as offshore wind expands, it said.
For wind, the institute urged action to ease nonprice bottlenecks such as permitting and military operational assessments. It said resolving difficulties tied to those assessments, securing dedicated ports, expanding installation and maintenance vessel capacity, and reinforcing grid infrastructure would improve predictability for project execution.
It also called for institutional changes for solar power, saying a structure centered on the spot market for renewable energy certificates, or RECs, increases price volatility and strengthens incentives to adopt low-priced imports, weakening investment and production conditions for domestic manufacturers. It said the government’s push to shift to a supply system centered on bidding and long-term contracts is also justified from a resource security standpoint, and recommended considering supplementary measures such as a public track during the transition.
Lee Seul-gi, a research fellow at the institute’s New Industry Strategy Research Division, said in the report, "While the domestic industrial base is important in strengthening renewable energy resource security, selective and strategic policy intervention that respects market functions is more desirable."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.