Page 11 - AsiaElec Week 16 2021

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South Korea should quicken green

roll-out to meet net zero by 2050

SOUTH KOREA SOUTH Korea’s journey to achieving net zero it falls behind other countries in the global trend
by 2050 is dependent on phasing out coal as a of transitioning to clean energy and economic
generating fuel by 2028. growth,” she added.
The think-tank Ember said in a note that it However, meeting the 2050 target will be
would be possible to phase out coal by 2028 if the helped by the fact that all coal power plants are
government manages to install 40 GW of solar set to be unprofitable before the end of their
and 14 GW of onshore wind by 2028 and puts in expected lifetimes even under current environ-
place a carbon price regime. mental policies and power market regulations,
Ember said that the South Korean govern- Ember found.
ment’s current 2028 targets of 27 GW for solar The growing requirement for increased
and 13 GW for wind would not support a fast power system flexibility alongside tightening
enough phasing out of coal to meet a 2050 net- regulation means that even under existing policy,
zero target. coal plant capacity factors will decrease, leaving
Coal currently accounts for 40% of total units both operating and under construction
generation and a quarter of emissions in South unprofitable to run.
Korea. Ember said that by increasing its 2028 target
“Phasing out coal power by 2028 is the most and fostering a faster coal phase out, the govern-
cost-effective choice for South Korea right now ment will save up to $5,5bn, making it the most
given its pursuit of carbon neutrality by 2050. economical choice for pursuing net zero. The
And without quickly phasing out coal power, government would then avoid the nightmare of
the country would struggle to raise its currently being dependent on loss-making coal plants to
‘highly insufficient’ NDC, which is aligned with meet power demand.
catastrophic warming scenarios,” said Valeria Most planned coal plant projects are pro-
Ehrenheim, Ember analyst and co-author of the jected to be unviable beyond 2030. This crunch
report: “End in sight: how South Korea can force point could be brought even further forward if
coal offline by 2028.” spot power prices remain around current levels,
“If South Korea sticks with current coal power or if a 2030 power sector emissions cap consist-
plans, it will struggle to contain system costs as ent with a 2050 net-zero target is introduced.™

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