Analysis: South Korea fires up on renewables, to close more coal plants

Doosan Enerbility Co

18/06/2019 08:09

* S.Korea looking to shut more older coal plants - advisers
    * To spell out power supply plan through 2033 by year-end
    * Less coal dependence needed to meet carbon emission
targets

    By Jane Chung
    SEOUL, June 18 (Reuters) - As renewable energy powers up in
South Korea, coal-fired generation, long the bedrock of the
country's electricity supply, is being tapped to give up room.
    Facing choking smog in its major cities and under pressure
to meet emission reduction targets, the world's fourth-biggest
coal importer is expected to accelerate targets for green energy
in an updated 15-year energy plan later this year.
    Long seen as a laggard with Japan in moving away from coal,
the government now looks set to close some 20 ageing coal-fired
generators and broaden operating caps at others, say advisers
and energy experts.
    "We have a big challenge ahead to reduce carbon emissions.
To some degree, we could do it by expanding renewable power but
that won't be enough to cut emissions so we need to think about
reducing coal power and weigh the costs of that change," said
Park Jong-bae, professor of electrical engineering at Konkuk
University.
    South Korea began its transition to cleaner energy in a 2017
power supply plan that aimed to boost the share of renewables
from about 6% to 20% by 2030, while scaling back coal and
unpopular nuclear.
    Amid public anger, the government in March designated
pollution a "social disaster", and a month later pledged to
boost renewable energy to up to 35% of total energy supplies by
2040.
    The 2019 energy plan is expected to reflect the push for
even more renewables and more gas-fired power at the expense of
coal, imported from countries such as Indonesia, Australia and
Russia. 
    Coal imports fell nearly 9% in the first four months of 2019
when coal's share of the country's energy mix fell by more than
5 percentage points to around 37%, although most of the slack
was taken up by nuclear, rather than renewables. Nuclear energy,
spurned in the wake of Japan's 2011 Fukushima disaster, is set
to fall by 2030 as older plants close.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N23B08S

    COAL BACKBONE
    South Korea operates some 60 coal power plants, mainly owned
by state-run utilities, which last year supplied about 42% of
the country's electricity.
    Over the next 15 years, the government had initially planned
to retrofit some 20 of these with anti-pollution gear when they
reached 30 years of age in a bid to extend their operating
lifespan, but this has been shelved.
    A "shared understanding" has emerged that "retrofitting is
not that cost-worthy," said Seok Kwang-hoon, a member of the
government's power supply plan working group and an adviser at
civic group Green Korea.
    The energy ministry has told state-run utilities to put
retrofitting plans on hold, added an industry source familiar
with the matter, who asked not to be named.
    However, the change comes even as seven new coal-fired
plants are set for completion by 2022. Coal-fired capacity will
rise in coming years before easing by 2030, suggesting the
government will have to take further measures to reduce coal's
share of energy output.
    "To have more renewable power, we can make coal power plants
run lower," said Kang Seung-jin, energy professor at Korea
Polytechnic University, who is helping to map out the 2019 plan.
    The government last year introduced caps on coal-fired
generation, halting operations at five plants from March to June
to curb pollution and it has done the same this year for four
plants.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N20N065 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1UQ06T
    
 
    CARBON TARGETS
    Still, South Korea is facing a tough task to boost
renewables and meet its planned carbon emission cuts under the
2015 Paris climate accord.
    The country scores poorly with green groups on its efforts
so far to tackle climate change, with the independent Climate
Change Performance Index released at last year's climate talks
in Poland putting it 57th out of 60 countries that were rated.
    To meet its targets, South Korea would have to cut coal's
contribution to its energy mix by 10 percentage points, or about
a quarter, and replace it with more expensive gas, a government
adviser told Reuters.
    Funding such a sharp drop in coal would be extremely
expensive, said the adviser, who asked not to be identified,
adding that it "could hike electricity bills so it's a challenge
for us to work on."
    Consultants Wood Mackenzie said South Korea was also likely
to miss its existing renewables target of 20% by 2030, more
likely reaching about 17%.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N21E0OO 
    "Coal ... will eventually decrease to a level slightly below
30% (of Korea's total power) by 2040," said Wood Mackenzie
adviser Zi Sheng Neoh, although he cautioned that this depended
on the availability of other energy sources.
    Some experts are also wary of closing down old coal plants.
    "A strategy for increasing renewables does not necessarily
mean lowering coal power," said Jeon Chung-hwan, professor of
mechanical engineering at Pusan National University. "I'm not
saying we should have more coal power, but we should leave some
room to support renewables."
    ($1 = 1,183.3100 won)
        

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
South Korea's power generation by energy source    https://tmsnrt.rs/2WGCg9z
South Korea's power generation by energy source    https://tmsnrt.rs/2WKhPZi
S. Korea's coal power output and its coal imports
interactive    https://tmsnrt.rs/2XSx5k3
S. Korea's coal power output and its coal imports png    https://tmsnrt.rs/2XQx0xu
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 (Reporting By Jane Chung; editing by Richard Pullin)
 ((jane.chung@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5667; Reuters
Messaging: jane.chung.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))