Korean Power System Challenges and Opportunities, Priorities for Swift and Successful Clean Energy Deployment at Scale

With South Korea’s electricity demand expected to grow 30% by 2035, transitioning to clean energy
resources will be critical in reducing the electric sector emissions and achieving national climate goals.
Rapid technological improvements can help keep costs low and maintain grid reliability, if Korea’s
government takes a coordinated approach to the clean energy transition. This policy brief identifies
key barriers to Korea’s shift toward clean energy, based on the authors’ companion report (A Clean
Energy Korea by 2035: Transitioning to 80% Carbon-Free Electricity Generation ), interviews with
experts, and the most recent data and literature. It then explores policy solutions for overcoming these
technological, economic, and institutional barriers, and suggests market transformation strategies to
speed the adoption of clean energy technologies. Amid ongoing cost and technological improvements
in wind, solar, and energy storage, advancing this report’s recommended policy actions with maximum
coordination among government officials can meaningfully accelerate Korea’s clean energy transition.