[Exclusive] 90% of Hanwool Solar Power Built Under Moon Administration

45 Solar Power Plants by KHNP... 90% Built Under Moon Administration
President Jeong Jae-hoon's Tenure Marks Acceleration... 37 Plants Constructed Since 2018
Government Targets 'Renewable Energy Corruption'... Plans Comprehensive Investigation of Related Projects

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power headquarters located in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk.
[Photo by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] It has been revealed that about 90% of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's solar power generation facilities were installed during the five years of the Moon Jae-in administration. This is the result of rapidly increasing solar power generation in line with the previous government's 'renewable energy drive' policy.

According to data submitted by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) to the office of Rep. Yang Geum-hee of the People Power Party on the 28th, KHNP built a total of 40 solar power facilities from May 2017 to April this year. The total number of solar power facilities installed and operated by KHNP itself was counted as 45. Of KHNP's own solar power facilities, 9 out of 10 (88.9%) were installed during the five years of the Moon Jae-in administration. During this period, KHNP invested about 77.3 billion KRW in building solar power facilities.

KHNP took its first step into the solar power business with the Hanbit Solar photovoltaic power plant, completed in 2007. It is a 21.4MW-class solar power facility installed on idle land at the Hanbit Nuclear Power Headquarters in Yeonggwang-gun, Jeollanam-do. However, KHNP did not accelerate the construction of its own solar power facilities until the Moon Jae-in administration took office after the Hanbit Solar plant. The only exception was the installation of a 2MW-class solar power facility on the dam slope of the Yecheon pumped-storage power plant in Gyeongsangbuk-do in 2012.

Difficulty in Predicting Profitability Due to Intermittency of Power Generation

The reason KHNP was passive in building solar power before the Moon Jae-in administration is simple. Solar power has high intermittency in generation, making it difficult to predict profitability. Criticism regarding the economic feasibility of KHNP's solar power has been consistently raised. The Boseonggwang solar power plant operated by KHNP in Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do, is a representative example. When KHNP acquired Boseonggwang solar power in 2018, it initially predicted an average daily generation time of 3.84 hours, but the actual generation time confirmed the following year was only 3.32 hours. This means KHNP paid a high price for the facility.

This policy of KHNP changed right after the inauguration of former President Jeong Jae-hoon in 2018. Former President Jeong was a figure who led the 'nuclear phase-out' policy and is currently on trial for involvement in the economic feasibility manipulation case of Wolseong Unit 1. From April 2018, when former President Jeong took office, until May this year when the administration changed, KHNP built 37 solar power facilities. This accounts for 82% of the total 45 solar power facilities KHNP has promoted over about 15 years since 2007.

'KHNP-type New Deal' Is Ongoing

What is noteworthy is that KHNP's 'solar power drive' is ongoing. KHNP is continuing to implement the 'KHNP-type New Deal Comprehensive Plan,' established in December 2020 as part of the Korean New Deal. The core of the KHNP-type New Deal is to significantly expand renewable energy projects, increasing solar power capacity from 71MW in 2020 to 3,742MW by 2025. A KHNP official stated, "The KHNP-type New Deal is still an ongoing matter. Although the future targets may be adjusted in detail, renewable energy projects will continue."

However, since the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has targeted the previous government's renewable energy policies, KHNP's solar power projects may face obstacles. The government recently announced that, based on a sample survey of the operation of the Power Industry Infrastructure Fund used for renewable energy projects, 261.6 billion KRW, or 12.5% of the 2.1 trillion KRW project budget, was spent illegally or improperly. Accordingly, the government plans to conduct a full investigation into renewable energy projects. President Yoon criticized, "The people's tax money was used in 'interest cartel' corruption."