[2020 National Audit] "One in Five ESS Nationwide is Shut Down"

436 out of 2,373 ESS Nationwide Shut Down
Jangseop Lee "Need to Improve Safety Issues for Fire-Free Use"

On May 27th at around 5:35 PM, a fire broke out at a solar power facility in Hwangsan-myeon, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do, sending thick black smoke into the sky. No injuries were reported, but the fire caused property damage estimated by the fire department at approximately 467.6 million KRW. Fire authorities investigated the cause of the fire based on the circumstances that the flames spread from a building housing energy storage systems (ESS). (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] It has been revealed that one out of five energy storage systems (ESS) installed nationwide is currently out of operation.

Lee Jang-seop, a member of the National Assembly's Industry, Trade, Energy, Small and Medium Enterprises Committee from the Democratic Party, announced on the 22nd that, after analyzing data submitted by the Korea Electrical Safety Corporation, 436 out of 2,373 ESS sites nationwide (18.4%) have ceased operation.

Looking at the suspension status by usage, 30 sites (24.6 MWh) have shut down in renewable energy linkage: 28 solar power sites (23.1 MWh) and 2 wind power sites (1.5 MWh).

Additionally, 406 sites (537.7 MWh) have been closed, including 373 peak reduction sites (406.6 MWh) and 33 emergency power generation sites (131.1 MWh).

Lee stated that the overall stagnation in ESS operations is evaluated to have occurred due to safety concerns raised by fire incidents over the past four years.

ESS fires occurred 29 times in total: 1 case in 2017, 16 cases in 2018, 11 cases in 2019, and 1 case in 2020.

Currently, only 52 out of 254 public institutions that have installed ESS (20.5%) are in operation.

According to the 'Regulations on the Promotion of Rational Energy Use in Public Institutions,' 254 public institutions using contracted power of 1000 kW or more were required to install ESS by this year.

However, considering installation suspensions due to fires, the Fire Agency's notice on 'Fire Safety Standards for Electrical Storage Facilities,' and budget difficulties of each public institution, the mandatory installation deadline for existing buildings has been extended to 2023.

Lee emphasized, "ESS is an essential facility for the activation of new and renewable energy," adding, "The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the competent authority, must continuously improve issues through ongoing research and development (R&D) so that ESS operators can use them with confidence regarding fire safety."