[THE INVESTOR] Korea will unveil a set of comprehensive plans to raise the nation’s energy efficiency and foster innovative technologies in the renewable sector, the government said on Oct. 5.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it aims to expand investment in innovative energy technologies to make them new growth drivers for Asia’s fourth-largest economy.

“The government will set an innovative energy policy to change the energy consumption trend and pave the way for creating new industries,” Minister Sung Yun-mo said during an energy business forum in Seoul.

Among the promising projects are smart energy factories that use less electricity and generate less greenhouse gas and zero energy buildings, which consume only as much energy as can be produced onsite through renewable resources.

Energy storage systems that store intermittent energy sources, such as solar and wind power, as well as electric vehicles and advanced power grid systems, were also named as the fastest-growing sectors in the renewable field.

The vision is part of the government’s broader effort to raise the ratio of renewable energy to reduce reliance on traditional sources like coal and nuclear power.

The government has set a goal of raising the ratio of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2030 and gradually phase out nuclear power.

Currently, Korea operates 24 nuclear reactors that generate about 30 percent of its electricity. Under the nuclear phase-out plan, the nation’s 10 oldest reactors will be retired by 2030 as their operational life cycles expire.
By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)