South Korea’s market for new energy industries is expected to reach 100 trillion won (US$86.4 billion) by 2030 on the back of efforts to expand existing know-how and develop next-generation technologies, the government said Monday. (Image : eretmari / Pixabay)
SEJONG, Nov. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s market for new energy industries is expected to reach 100 trillion won (US$86.4 billion) by 2030 on the back of efforts to expand existing know-how and develop next-generation technologies, the government said Monday.
Unveiling a government strategy for boosting the new energy industry, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it is designed to help Asia’s fourth-largest economy meet its obligation to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions and create a future growth engine.
South Korea, like other countries around the world, will be obliged to implement measures to arrest global warming at the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP) gathering in Paris set to begin Nov. 30.
“South Korea with no significant natural resources is well positioned to take advantage of the ongoing effort to cut back on greenhouse gases as outlined by the U.N. Framework on Climate Change,” the ministry said.
A large domestic and export market will likely be created by developing futuristic ultra-supercritical (USC) power plants capable of near-zero emissions and high voltage direct current (HVDC) that can drastically reduce power in the transmission process, it said.
The ministry said expanding capabilities of electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS) will also contribute to growth.
At present, South Korea’s new energy sector, which is mostly made up of EVs and ESS, stands at just 3 trillion won.
Chung Yang-ho, deputy minister of energy and resources policy, said that if all goes according to plan, the new energy industry will be able to create some 500,000 new jobs by the target year and help reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 55 million tons.
The official said the government plans to make changes to administrative rules to fuel growth and allocate state resources. In 2016, the government will spend just under 1.29 trillion won to foster the growth of the new energy sector.
He added some 70 companies have said they will invest 19 trillion won in the next five years to help prop up growth down the line.
Chung said that as part of the plan, it will build the necessary infrastructure to allow people to use EVs more freely from 2020 onwards. It said by 2030, measures will be taken to convert all public transportation buses to EVs, with the country to have at least 1 million all-electric vehicles on the road.
The official said that some 40,000 energy-efficient smart plants will be built, with all large buildings to be certified as “zero energy buildings” starting in 2025.
(Yonhap)
