Climate Ministry: "100 GW of Renewable Energy by 2030"... Accelerating Energy Transition

2026 Major Policy Plans Reported

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment has presented an energy transition centered on renewable energy and a comprehensive green transformation of industry and the economy (K-GX) as its core tasks for next year.

During a presidential work report held at the Government Sejong Convention Center in Sejong City on the afternoon of December 17, the ministry explained that, in the six months since the launch of the new administration, it has announced the 2035 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for greenhouse gas reduction and focused on establishing a renewable energy-based transition. The ministry also supplemented and revised existing policies, such as a comprehensive review of new dam sites and restructuring the algal bloom monitoring system. Building on these efforts, the ministry plans to develop a green transformation strategy that covers all sectors-industry, economy, and society-next year, aiming to responsibly achieve the national greenhouse gas reduction targets and establish a sustainable land environment.

First, the government will accelerate the energy transition by deploying 100 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030. For solar power, it will promote legislative amendments to improve setback regulations and enact a special law to foster agrivoltaics, while identifying new sites such as farmland, reclaimed land, and water surfaces to expand deployment. Support will also be strengthened to enable energy production in everyday spaces such as schools, parking lots, and traditional markets. In particular, the government plans to establish “Sunlight Income Villages” in more than 38,000 administrative units nationwide, expanding by at least 500 locations each year starting next year, so that energy production translates into local income.

In the wind power sector, regulations will be streamlined with the goal of deploying 12 GW of onshore wind and 25 GW of offshore wind by 2035. The obligation to install wind measurement devices for power generation permits will be relaxed, and a government-wide one-stop permitting support system will be established to accelerate project implementation. For next-generation technologies such as multi-junction solar modules and ultra-large wind turbines, the ministry will support development and demonstration to enable early commercialization and entry into overseas markets.

The power grid will also undergo a major overhaul to accommodate the expansion of renewable energy. The government will enhance the acceptance of renewables by building regional distributed power grids and microgrids and will pursue intelligent grid operations using artificial intelligence (AI). By 2029, 2.3 GW of energy storage systems (ESS) will be deployed, and virtual power plants (VPPs) will be activated to ensure flexible power supply and demand. The government also plans to build interregional transmission lines, such as the West Coast high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line, to resolve grid bottlenecks.

Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sung-hwan Reporting on Work (Sejong=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Dohun = Kim Sung-hwan, Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment, is reporting on work to President Lee Jae-myung at the Government Sejong Convention Center on December 17, 2025. superdoo82@yna.co.kr (End)

Establishing the institutional foundation for the energy transition was also presented as a key task. The government will develop the 12th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand and a roadmap for converting coal power by 2040, providing a blueprint for energy mix to achieve the 2030 NDC and carbon neutrality by 2050. The Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) will be restructured into a bidding system to encourage price competition, and a “quasi-centralized renewable energy system” will be introduced, offering additional compensation for output reduction to increase market acceptance. Reforms to the electricity tariff system, including a revision of industrial time-of-use rates and consideration of regional electricity pricing, will also be pursued.

The government also announced its strategy to turn national greenhouse gas reduction into an opportunity for industrial and economic advancement. To support decarbonization in industry, the development and demonstration of carbon-neutral technologies will be expanded, and the foundation for the hydrogen industry will be strengthened through large-scale green hydrogen demonstration projects and the enactment of the Hydrogen Business Act. The government plans to gradually expand paid allocation in the emissions trading system and reinvest the resulting funds into supporting companies’ decarbonization efforts, creating a virtuous cycle.

Expanding Electric Vehicle Adoption... Reforming Subsidies to Encourage Price Reductions

The government’s electric vehicle (EV) deployment policy will also be comprehensively expanded. The subsidy system will be reformed to encourage price reductions while enhancing performance and safety, and electrification will be promoted across all vehicle classes, including commercial vehicles. To address charging bottlenecks, rapid chargers will be installed in residential areas, and charging infrastructure utilizing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology will be built in parallel. The electrification of various power sources, such as construction machinery and ships, will also be promoted in stages.

The decarbonization transition will also be pursued in the building and heating sectors. The deployment of heat pumps will be expanded, and by March next year, a “Heat Energy Innovation Implementation Roadmap” will be established to foster the clean heat industry. The legal framework will be strengthened by amending laws to recognize ambient heat as renewable energy and enacting a basic law on heat energy.

The government will also strengthen its circular economy policy for plastics. The disposable cup deposit system will be converted to a model that prohibits free provision, and the mandatory use of recycled PET materials will be gradually expanded. A Korean-style recycled material certification system will be introduced to ease the burden on export companies, and the eco-design system will be used to reduce environmental impact throughout the product lifecycle.

Water management and disaster response policies are also included. The government will implement a seasonal management system for algal blooms to reduce pollution sources and improve water flow, and will conduct joint public-private investigations of algal toxins and long-term risk assessments. To prepare for floods and droughts, infrastructure for river and urban flood response will be expanded, and AI-based flood forecasting systems will be enhanced. For victims of humidifier disinfectants, the government will provide comprehensive support measures under national responsibility, offering tailored assistance throughout their life cycle.

Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment Kim Sunghwan said, “For Korea to advance toward a decarbonized civilization, it is most important to responsibly implement the 2030 NDC, and in this process, industry and the economy can also seize opportunities for a major leap forward.”