Wind Power Equipment Manufacturing R&D Personnel Plummeted from 409 in 2016 to 91 in 2020
[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The number of researchers in domestic wind power generation equipment has been decreasing every year, falling below 100. Although the government, which is promoting energy transition policies, is rapidly driving the expansion of offshore wind power following solar power, the industrial ecosystem is becoming more vulnerable. In particular, about 100 trillion won is expected to be invested in a mega offshore wind power project equivalent to the power generation of 17 nuclear reactors by 2030, raising concerns that the benefits will go to overseas companies, such as those in Europe, which lead the wind power equipment market based on technological competitiveness. While domestic wind resources are utilized, most of the equipment relies on foreign products, leading to criticism that offshore wind power could effectively become 'imported electricity.'
According to the '2020 New and Renewable Energy Industry Statistics Survey Results' announced on the 22nd by the Korea Energy Agency's New and Renewable Energy Center, the number of researchers in wind power equipment manufacturing companies?including blades, power generation systems, power conversion devices, structural materials, and other parts and equipment?was 91, a 34% decrease from 138 the previous year.
The number of wind power equipment researchers, which reached 409 in 2016, has been shrinking steadily: 352 in 2017, 271 in 2018, 138 in 2019, and 91 in 2020. The number of wind power equipment businesses decreased from 30 in 2016 to 25 in 2020, and investment dropped from 51.9 billion won to 24 billion won during the same period. Although annual sales increased from 1.1643 trillion won to 1.9202 trillion won over the past four years, concerns arise that government subsidies are not being used for technology development to enhance the competitiveness of the domestic wind industry, suggesting that the technological gap with overseas companies is likely to widen further.
Professor Son Yanghoon of the Department of Economics at Incheon National University pointed out, "Even if investments are made in wind power projects and technology development, it is still difficult to compete with overseas companies, so companies are reluctant to invest."
According to the Energy Agency, if the technology level of advanced countries related to wind power generation is set at 100, domestic technology for turbine systems, for example, is at a level of 74. While 8-megawatt (MW) turbines have been commercialized overseas and 10 MW or larger turbines are currently under development, domestically, 5 MW turbines are at the commercialization stage, and efforts are underway to develop 8 MW turbines already commercialized abroad.
This leads to increased dependence on foreign products. The localization rate of wind power equipment is estimated at 34% for core components such as generators and converters, and 50% for turbines. For this reason, the market share of foreign products in wind power equipment expanded from 29.6% in 2016 to 60.5% in 2020 and 87.8% in the first half of 2021. The government's decision to increase subsidies for offshore wind power operators using more than 50% domestic components reflects concerns about this reality.
What is even more worrisome is that the domestic wind power industry ecosystem is still in its early stages, and active investment in technology development is not taking place, while the government is pressing the accelerator on expanding wind power generation. The government plans to push forward an offshore wind power project equivalent to the power generation of 17 nuclear reactors by 2030. A total of 95.6 trillion won will be invested in this project alone, raising fears that, like Chinese panels dominating the domestic solar market, the benefits will be handed over entirely to European wind power equipment companies.
Experts advise that the government urgently needs to adjust the pace of renewable energy dissemination policies while establishing a roadmap to nurture the domestic industrial ecosystem.
Professor Son said, "Korea has a high dependence on foreign energy resources, and if it also depends on foreign technology, the burden becomes too great. Just as nuclear power relies on domestic technology for plants despite importing uranium, wind power policies should not focus solely on dissemination but should proceed while monitoring the development stage of the domestic industrial ecosystem."
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