South Korea seeks triple renewables as fossil fuel power import bill heads USD 25 billion

South Korea aims to expand its renewable energy capacity to 100GW by 2030 to reduce its high economic exposure to fossil fuel price shocks. While the country possesses strong industrial capabilities in solar, batteries, and transformers, it faces significant challenges regarding land availability and grid bottlenecks, particularly in transmitting power from hubs in Honam and Yeongnam to the Seoul area.

• South Korea is highly vulnerable to fossil fuel price volatility, spending a larger portion of its GDP on these imports than 94% of the global population. In 2026, annual fossil fuel imports for the entire energy sector are projected to be worth USD 133 billion, which is nearly six times the country's annual debt repayments.
• The government intends to formalize a target to increase renewable energy capacity to 100GW by 2030 as part of the Green Great Transformation Strategy, nearly tripling the current installed base of 37GW. This target could be supported by 14GW of planned wind and continued solar growth, potentially reaching 92GW.
• Renewable energy has provided significant economic savings; since 2010, wind and solar generated 283TWh of electricity, saving USD 25 billion compared to using imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). Wind and solar are projected to save USD 4.7 billion in fossil fuel import costs in 2026 alone.
• Land scarcity is a primary constraint for solar deployment, but floating solar on reservoirs offers a potential 11GW of capacity, with the Korea Rural Community Corporation targeting 3GW in agricultural reservoirs by 2030. Offshore wind is a major utility-scale lever, accounting for 11.3GW of the 14.4GW of wind planned through 2030.
• A critical bottleneck exists in the power grid, as existing transmission lines can only carry 4.5GW from the Honam renewable hub to the Seoul area, where demand is rising due to AI and semiconductor clusters. To address this, the government is prioritizing a high-voltage direct current energy highway and plans for up to 10GW of pumped hydro storage by 2030.

APA

(GEM), M. E. K. R. (. J. S. K. O. (n.d.). South Korea seeks triple renewables as fossil fuel power import bill heads USD 25 billion. Global Energy Monitor. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/south-korea-seeks-triple-renewables-fossil-fuel-power-import-bill-heads-usd-25-billion

Chicago

(GEM), Matt Ewen, Kostantsa Rangelova (Ember), Janna Smith, Kasandra O'Malia. South Korea seeks triple renewables as fossil fuel power import bill heads USD 25 billion. Global Energy Monitor, n.d. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/south-korea-seeks-triple-renewables-fossil-fuel-power-import-bill-heads-usd-25-billion.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=(GEM) |first1=Matt Ewen, Kostantsa Rangelova (Ember), Janna Smith, Kasandra O'Malia |title=South Korea seeks triple renewables as fossil fuel power import bill heads USD 25 billion |publisher=Global Energy Monitor |url=https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/south-korea-seeks-triple-renewables-fossil-fuel-power-import-bill-heads-usd-25-billion |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gemndsouth, author = {(GEM), Matt Ewen, Kostantsa Rangelova (Ember), Janna Smith, Kasandra O'Malia}, title = {{South Korea seeks triple renewables as fossil fuel power import bill heads USD 25 billion}}, institution = {Global Energy Monitor}, url = {https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/south-korea-seeks-triple-renewables-fossil-fuel-power-import-bill-heads-usd-25-billion}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }