This article discusses how large-scale solar power is not suitable for South Korea due to insufficient insolation, difficulty in securing land, and low efficiency, and that alternative approaches through small-scale power generation and technology development are more favourable.

Since Edison and Tesla’s power system wars, electricity has penetrated deeply into human life. It has become an extremely important energy source for daily life and industry because it is the least disordered of physical energy sources and can be converted into various forms of energy most efficiently. Currently, we rely primarily on nuclear and thermal power to generate electricity, but the dangers of radioactive materials and the environmental pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels have led to a growing interest in renewable energy.
One of these renewable energy sources is solar power, which directly harnesses the sun’s light to generate electricity, and is attracting attention as a sustainable and environmentally friendly energy source because it harnesses the sun, the earth’s fundamental energy source. Among other renewable energies, solar power has the advantage of rapid technological advancement and relatively simple maintenance after installation. In particular, since the power generation equipment is fixed, the failure rate is low, and if dust is removed, it can be used stably for about 20 years or more. In addition, the power generation efficiency is constantly increasing due to the advancement of semiconductor technology, and Panasonic recently released a solar panel with a conversion efficiency of 25.6%.

Advantages of solar power

One of the biggest advantages of solar power is its flexibility in terms of where it can be installed. While thermal and nuclear power plants require large sites for noise and environmental reasons, solar power can be installed on the rooftops and walls of buildings in cities and even on streetlights. This is an emerging alternative that could alleviate the problems of building large-scale transmission towers, such as the Milyang transmission tower incident.
Technologies are also constantly being developed around the world to increase the efficiency of solar power. As efficiency improves, costs are gradually coming down, making solar power more economically viable in the future. Nevertheless, there are still technical and economic limitations that prevent solar power from becoming a major source of electricity for countries.

Problems with large-scale solar power

Currently, South Korea’s largest solar power plant is located in Samrangjin, Gyeongsangnam-do, with an installed capacity of 60MW. However, these large-scale solar power plants require much larger sites compared to nuclear power plants. For example, nuclear power plants have an average capacity of 1 GW, but replacing the same capacity with solar power would require a very large site, and the efficiency is relatively low. One of the main problems with solar power is that it is extremely inefficient in areas with low insolation. South Korea is not a sunshine-rich country, so it is not suitable for building large-scale solar power plants.
From a technical perspective, solar power also faces a number of challenges. DC/DC converters and DC/AC inverters are required to connect the electricity generated by solar power plants to the grid. Energy losses occur during this process, and inverters can suffer from inefficiencies, especially for large-scale plants. As large-scale plants require more inverters and converters to connect to the grid, additional technology development is needed to enable efficient large-scale solar power generation.
In addition, large-scale solar power plants require large areas of land, which is a major constraint in a country with a narrow land mass like South Korea. Meanwhile, solar panels are vulnerable to rising temperatures and lose efficiency at higher temperatures. The hot and humid conditions of South Korea’s summers compound this problem, which may require the installation of additional cooling units.

Global trends in solar power and Korea’s response

Solar power is growing rapidly around the world, especially in countries with abundant sunshine, such as California, southern Spain, and Saudi Arabia, which are actively adopting solar power as a primary energy source. Saudi Arabia is building a 500 MW power plant and plans to switch to solar for the majority of its energy by 2030. In Europe, Germany has also announced plans to expand renewable energy to more than 80 per cent of its energy by 2050, with solar and wind as the main sources.
South Korea has geographical limitations, with relatively low insolation and difficulties in securing large areas of land for large-scale solar power generation. Nevertheless, the South Korean government has announced its Renewable Energy 3020 plan to expand renewable energy to 20 per cent of total energy by 2030, of which solar power plays an important role. However, solar installations centred on small-scale power plants or individual homes are being discussed as a more appropriate form of solar power rather than large-scale solar power plants.

Policy responses and social awareness

In addition to technical issues, policy responses and social awareness play an important role in the successful expansion of solar power. While the government has been encouraging solar power through subsidies and tax incentives, the economic benefits of solar power have not been recognised in Korea due to the country’s low electricity tariff structure and high reliance on traditional energy sources. To address this, efforts to change social perceptions of energy conservation and renewable energy use are needed, along with reforming electricity tariffs.
Socially, there is also a need to improve the perception of solar power. While solar power has a low environmental impact and can increase energy independence in the long term, many people have questions about the initial installation costs and long-term affordability. As a result, governments and companies need to promote the long-term benefits and economic advantages of solar power, and develop products that offer greater efficiency through technological advancements.

Conclusion

In conclusion, solar power has the potential to be a key part of the future energy transition as a renewable energy source, but it remains challenging to implement on a large scale in South Korea. The geographical and economic limitations of South Korea make small-scale power plants and personal solar panel installations a more realistic alternative to large-scale solar power. A better strategy for South Korea would be to focus on developing miniaturised solar power systems and exporting superior technology rather than large-scale power generation.