GREEN GROWTH: FROM RELIGION TO REALITY - Sustainia

Chapter 6from 2012 to 2016 (MKE, 2010b). The current goal is toincrease renewable energy usage to 11% of total energyconsumption by 2030 (PCGG 2010a, 8) (See Figure 1).In absolute terms, Korea’s renewables goal appearsmodest compared to those of renewables powerhouseslike Denmark. This apparent modesty reflects in part thelow installed base from which Korea must start (Korea’sgoal of 10.7% is a 4-fold increase from 2009’s 2.7%). It isalso a reflection of the relative dearth of strong renewableresources (Korea’s renewable plans are constrained by thefact that Korea’s wind and solar potential is limited comparedto many nations.) Korea believes that, given theselimitations, it has set quite challenging goals.The third method is to produce more energy fromnuclear power plants, a carbon-free but not renewablesource. Korea is already the fifth largest nuclear energyproducer (151TWh), generating 5.5% of the world’s totalnuclear energy (International Energy Agency 2010,17). By 2030, Korea aims to produce 59% of its domesticelectricity from nuclear energy, according to the KoreaHerald (Cho 2010) The Basic Energy Plan of 2008 furthershows that nuclear energy will take up to 27.8% in thecountry’s overall energy mix. In addition to the potentialto reduce carbon emissions, Korea hopes to emerge as amajor exporter of nuclear power technologies and plantsin the global market.2.1.1 Challenges - nuclear developmentThere are some significant questions surrounding the developmentof nuclear power in Korea. Whether nuclearpower constitutes green energy has been as controversialan issue in Korea as it has been elsewhere. The PresidentialCommittee had attempted to include provisions fordevelopment of nuclear power in the Framework Act onLow Carbon Green Growth enacted at the end of 2009,but had to abandon this because of objections regardingthe safety and cleanliness of nuclear power. Still, nuclearpower is included in Korea’s blueprint for future energiesas a major alternative energy to fossil fuels.3However, nuclear energy’s safety concerns have gainedfurther saliency recently. When Korea won the bid in2010 to construct nuclear power plants in the UnitedArab Emirates, with expected profits of four million dollars,the country was excited about becoming the nextmajor nuclear power exporter. Yet, despite such majoraccomplishments, safety issues regarding nuclear energygeneration, including proper disposal methods of the nuclearwastes, continue to be debated. The fear of nuclearexplosion and radiation exposure in Fukushima, Japan,has raised new nuclear safety issues, prompting the Koreangovernment to undertake the “Domestic NuclearEnergy Security Check Plan” to ease safety concerns, andit expects continuing discussion about this issue in Korea.Finally, it is worth noting that the effect of nuclearpower on energy security is unclear. Despite KEPCO’srecent discovery of uranium in Waterbury Lake, Canada,Korea would have to import a major portion of its uraniumfrom Russia, Kazakhstan, and/or Australia. While itis potentially simply trading one dependency for another,expanding nuclear power in the country’s energy portfoliowill reduce its high dependency on oil coming fromthe Middle East. At the moment, Korea is more concentratedon tackling the potential safety issues of nuclearpower plants; potential dependency issues related to uraniumare not considered a major concern2.2 Second objective: provide an engine for economicgrowthThe second major objective of Korea’s National GreenGrowth Strategy and Five Year Plan for Green Growthis to create new growth engines from green technologies,promoting green industries."The Korean government’s choice of the next generation’sgrowth-driving green industries such solar panels,fuel cells, LED, and green cars industries, reflectwell on the strengths of its current industrial sector"Korea has the market clout and technical skills to capitalizeon green markets like those Objective One (with itsgoals of increasing national efficiency, renewables, andnuclear power) would create domestically. The Koreangovernment’s choice of the next generation’s growthdrivinggreen industries such solar panels, fuel cells, LED,and green cars industries, reflect well on the strengths ofits current industrial sector. The country is home to someof the top global corporations in many high-tech industriessuch as the electronics, semi-conductor, IT, automobile,and ship-building industries. Korea also ownssome of the most advanced technologies in related areas,and since 2005, the government has been spending 253.2billion won (230 million USD) on research and developmentin heavy electric equipment and semiconductors(MKE 2010d, 14). Technological capabilities, experience,and knowledge on market trends and consumer taste inthose industries could help the Korean firms make a faststart in some of the new green industries."Korean companies are in fact making major moves intarget industries"Korean companies are in fact making major moves intarget industries. Hyundai Heavy Industries is building a175MW (7 trillion USD) generator in what is to becomeAmerica’s largest solar energy generation project (total of900MW) in California and Arizona (Park and Lee 2010).Samsung will invest 23 trillion won (20.9 billion USD)on solar panels, fuel cells, LED, and medical devices by2020. It will also start building a green industrial complexby 2021 with 7 trillion won (6.3 billion USD) initial investments(Ryu 2011). Hyundai-Kia Automobile has developedthe Sonata Hybrid and K5 Hybrid using its ownindependent technologies, acquiring 1000 new patents.Hyundai will also release a new plug-in hybrid electric3 Private communication withKorean government official, 2011.70