South Korea Invests Nearly $36 Billion in Clean Energy
The South Korean government has announced it will invest US$35.4 billion in the development of renewable energy resources by 2015.
The government said the investments will be funneled into both public and private sector initiatives. Although the investment will focus on developing several different resources including hydrogen fuel cells, light-emitting diodes (LED), and tidal energy, the two industries that will receive the bulk of the financial support are wind and solar.
More than $6 billion will be invested in research and development of wind and solar energy systems. Furthermore, the private sector intends to invest $30 billion in similar projects. The government plans to increase South Korea's solar capacity to 400 MW by 2012. It intends to do this through promoting utility-scale projects as well as residential solar systems. By 2012, more than 100,000 homes are expected to have solar systems.
South Korea also has big wind energy ambitions. The country aims to have 1,000 MW of installed wind power by 2012. Even more, it hopes to hold a 10% share of the global wind energy supply chain. So, the country is working diligently to establish a manufacturing base which would allow it to act as a domestic and export hub for wind turbine components.
By 2030, South Korea, Asia's fourth largest economy, expects to generate 11% of electricity from renewable sources. Currently, the Asian nation receives 2.4% of its power from alternative energy sources.
Image credit: d'n'c via Flickr
Nathanael Baker is the Managing Editor of EnergyBoom. He has researched and reported on the issues of renewable energy, sustainability, and climate change for over two years. He has provided research to the New York Times and The Economist, as well as being published on different media outlets including, The Energy Collective.
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