This blog post examines the technical and environmental reasons why large-scale solar power generation is challenging in Korea and the background making small-scale generation more suitable.
The Solar Power Era
Since the power system war between Edison and Tesla, electricity has deeply permeated human life. Electricity has become a crucial energy source across daily life and industry because its low disorder allows it to be converted into various forms of energy more efficiently than other physical energy sources. Currently, humanity primarily relies on nuclear and thermal power generation for electricity production. However, concerns over the dangers of radioactive materials and environmental pollution caused by fossil fuel use have heightened interest in renewable energy.
Among these renewable energy sources, solar power generation—which directly uses sunlight to produce electricity—is gaining attention as a sustainable and eco-friendly energy source, leveraging the sun, Earth’s fundamental energy source. Among various renewable energy sources, solar power is experiencing rapid technological advancement and offers the advantage of relatively simple maintenance after installation. Particularly, because the generation equipment is fixed, it has a low failure rate and can operate stably for over 20 years with just dust removal. Furthermore, generation efficiency continues to increase with advances in semiconductor technology; Panasonic Japan recently released a solar panel with a conversion efficiency of 25.6%.
Advantages of Solar Power Generation
One of the greatest advantages of solar power generation is its exceptional flexibility regarding installation locations. While thermal power plants and nuclear power plants require large sites due to noise and environmental concerns, solar power can be installed on building rooftops and walls within cities, and even on streetlights. This is emerging as an alternative that can mitigate problems associated with large-scale transmission tower construction, such as the Miryang transmission tower incident.
Furthermore, technologies to increase the efficiency of solar power generation are continuously being developed worldwide. As efficiency improves, costs are also gradually decreasing, and the economic viability of solar power generation is expected to improve further in the future. Nevertheless, technical and economic limitations still exist for solar power generation to become a major national power source.
Problems with Large-Scale Solar Power Generation
Currently, South Korea’s largest solar power plant is located in Samrangjin, Gyeongsangnam-do, with an installed capacity of 60MW. In contrast, the Daecheok Solar Power Plant, under construction in Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do, aims for an installed capacity of 80MW. However, compared to nuclear power plants, these large-scale solar power plants require significantly more land. For example, while a nuclear power plant typically has an average capacity of 1GW, replacing that same capacity with solar power requires an extremely large site and is relatively less efficient. One major issue with solar power is its extremely low efficiency in areas with low solar radiation. South Korea is not a country with abundant sunshine, making it unsuitable for constructing large-scale solar power plants.
Technologically, solar power also faces several challenges. Connecting electricity generated by solar power plants to the grid requires DC/DC converters and DC/AC inverters. Energy losses occur during this process, and particularly for large-scale plants, efficiency degradation in inverters can become a significant issue. Large-scale plants require more inverters and converters for grid connection, necessitating additional technological development for efficient large-scale solar power generation.
Furthermore, large-scale solar power plants require extensive land areas, posing a significant constraint in countries with limited territory like South Korea. Meanwhile, solar panels are vulnerable to temperature increases, suffering efficiency losses at high temperatures. South Korea’s hot and humid summer environment exacerbates this issue, potentially necessitating the installation of additional cooling equipment.
Global Trends in Solar Power Generation and Korea’s Response
Globally, solar power generation is growing rapidly. Countries with abundant solar radiation, such as California in the United States, southern Spain, and Saudi Arabia, are actively adopting solar power as a major energy source. Saudi Arabia is constructing a 500MW power plant and has plans to transition the majority of its energy to solar power by 2030. Germany in Europe has also announced plans to expand renewable energy to over 80% of its total energy by 2050, intending to utilize solar and wind power as primary energy sources.
South Korea faces geographical limitations, including relatively low solar radiation and difficulty securing the vast land areas required for large-scale solar power generation. Nevertheless, the Korean government announced the ‘Renewable Energy 3020’ plan, aiming to expand renewable energy to 20% of total energy by 2030, with solar power playing a crucial role. However, discussions suggest that small-scale installations focused on individual homes or small-scale power plants are a more suitable approach than large-scale solar power plants.
Policy Responses and Social Awareness
Successfully scaling solar power requires not only addressing technical challenges but also effective policy responses and changing social perceptions. While the government encourages solar power through subsidies and tax incentives, South Korea’s low electricity rates and high dependence on traditional energy sources still obscure the economic advantages of solar power. To overcome this, efforts are needed to reform electricity pricing structures and shift societal attitudes toward energy conservation and renewable energy use.
Socially, there is also a need to improve perceptions of solar power generation. While solar power has a low environmental impact and is a means to increase energy self-sufficiency in the long term, many people question the initial installation costs and long-term economic viability. Accordingly, the government and companies must promote the long-term benefits and economic advantages of solar power generation and develop products that offer higher efficiency through technological advancement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, while solar power holds significant potential as a renewable energy source and a core element of future energy transition, large-scale implementation in Korea still faces considerable challenges. Due to Korea’s geographical and economic constraints, small-scale power plants and personal solar panel installations are emerging as more realistic alternatives than large-scale solar power generation. A strategy focusing on developing compact solar power systems for export, rather than large-scale generation, would be more suitable for Korea.
