SEOUL, May 24 (Korea Bizwire) — The use of biomass at thermal power plants, including logged wood and branches, has jumped in size during the Moon administration.
Rep. Yoon Young-seok from the main opposition People Power Party submitted a report based on data from the Korea Energy Agency and the Korea Power Exchange which indicated that among all sources of renewable energy, the capacity for generating electricity using biomass jumped from 1,905 megawatts (MW) prior to President Moon Jae-in’s inauguration in 2016 to 3,458 MW by 2020, rising by a whopping 81 percent.
Combined with the projection for an increasing amount of biomass use by the end of the year, the use of biomass under the Moon administration is expected to double compared to the previous administration.
The government has been working with public agencies to expand the use of biomass. Last year, the capacity for biomass generation (3,458 MW) was on par with the total capacity of hydroelectric power generation (3,553 MW).
Environmental activists worldwide have recently been opposing the use of biomass as a fuel to generate electricity, claiming that it may incite indiscreet logging to acquire more wood.
Image Credit: Korea Forest Service / Korea East-West Power Corp. / photonews@koreabizwire.com
