Solar panels at the Samcheonpo power plant in southeast South Korea. (image: Korea South-East Power Co.)
SEOUL, March 27 (Korea Bizwire) — The government has decided to suspend or reduce the solar power generation of some facilities in South Jeolla and South Gyeongsang provinces starting next month, as the increase in solar power generation is bringing about difficulties in the operation of the national power grid.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it will limit output to 1.05 gigawatts (GW) for solar power plants that have not improved their sustained operation performance.
Sustained operation performance refers to the inverter’s ability to prevent the disconnection of renewable energy sources from the power grid, even in case of low frequency and low voltage caused by grid faults.
For output control, facilities owned by public institutions will be blocked first and then those owned by private entities will be blocked if there is insufficient capacity.
Moreover, authorities have decided to review the idea of restricting the output of nuclear plants as well as to reduce power supply even on clear weekends and holidays to stabilize power supply and demand.
If electricity supply falls behind demand, it causes problems. However, oversupply can cause an overload of the power grid, possibly leading to a blackout.
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
