[Exclusive] Hydrogen-Coal Co-Firing Power Generation Likely to Be Excluded from RE100

RE100 Technical Standard Revision Decision Results
Many Negative Opinions on Hydrogen-Coal Co-firing Power Generation
Green Premium Likely to Be Specified as an Appendix

Hydrogen-coal co-firing power generation is expected to be excluded from the Renewable Energy 100 (RE100) certification, which requires using 100% electricity produced from renewable energy. This means that power generation mixing hydrogen and coal does not meet the RE100 standards. It is also expected to impact various forms of co-firing power generation promoted by South Korean companies.

According to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Korea Committee on the 15th, Kim Tae-han, a senior researcher at the committee, recently stated at the 'Voluntary Renewable Energy Policy Briefing' jointly hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Energy Agency, "The majority of feedback collected for the revision of the '2024 RE100 Technical Criteria' was negative toward hydrogen-coal co-firing power generation." CDP is an international organization addressing climate change and is responsible for certifying companies participating in RE100. Accordingly, the new RE100 technical criteria, to be finalized by the board of directors at the end of this year, are expected to exclude hydrogen-coal co-firing power generation.

RE100 revises its technical criteria every two years. This year, stakeholders' opinions were collected from April to May regarding the new technical criteria. Three proposals were considered: Plan A excludes all renewable energy co-fired with coal; Plan B excludes all renewable energy co-fired with fossil fuels; Plan C recognizes renewable energy only when 100% input into thermal or fuel cell power generation. Plan C effectively narrows the scope of recognition.

Additionally, only 'green hydrogen' produced using renewable energy sources such as solar and wind is recognized for co-firing renewable energy. Gray hydrogen, which causes carbon emissions, and blue hydrogen, which involves carbon capture, are not eligible. If Plan A is finalized, green hydrogen co-fired with liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be recognized under RE100.

The interest in RE100 technical criteria stems from their relation to South Korean companies' renewable energy procurement strategies. The current criteria include the extent to which co-firing of renewable energy and fossil fuels will be recognized under RE100. In South Korea, projects mixing hydrogen (including ammonia) with coal or LNG for power generation are underway.

The issue is that these criteria may be further tightened in the future. Senior researcher Kim Tae-han said, "Currently, hydrogen-LNG power generation is pre-commercial," adding, "There is a possibility that future revisions will exclude hydrogen-LNG power generation as well."

The 'Green Premium Tariff' implemented by the Korean government is expected to be more clearly specified in the technical criteria. CDP has so far recognized the green premium as a means of fulfilling RE100, but it was not explicitly stated in the technical criteria. Some have raised concerns about overlap with Renewable Energy Certificates (REC).

Kim said, "The green premium aligns with the greenhouse gas emission accounting standards (GHG Protocol) of RE100," and "The current revision is considering including it in an appendix." RE100 distinguishes greenhouse gas emissions into direct emissions (Scope 1), indirect emissions (Scope 2), and upstream/downstream value chain emissions (Scope 3), and CDP's position is that emissions in different scopes are not considered overlapping. According to the GHG Protocol, REC corresponds to Scope 1, while the green premium corresponds to Scope 2.

The green premium is a system where companies pay a premium fee when purchasing electricity from Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), and the amount paid is recognized as renewable energy use. KEPCO conducts the bidding, and the Korea Energy Agency issues the certification. The premium fees paid by companies are reinvested in renewable energy such as solar and wind power.

However, the green premium tariff system has faced controversy over 'additionality' because the reinvestment of funds into renewable energy was not transparently disclosed. Consequently, the government has been conducting green premium bidding by power source, such as solar and wind, since this year.

In the first green premium bidding held earlier this year, a total of 101 companies participated, signing contracts for 6.211 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of volume. Solar power accounted for 99.99% (6.209 GWh), making up the largest share, while wind (0.1 GWh), hydro (0.1 GWh), and bio (0.1 GWh) had minimal shares. KEPCO will conduct the second green premium bidding for 2024 from the 15th to the 24th.