Wind Energy

South Korea is set to spend about 40 trillion won on new renewable energy projects

South Koreas government and private sector will spend a combined KRW40 trillion ($36 billion) on renewable energy over the next five years to take advantage of growing demand for clean energy and help cut reliance on fossil fuels, a government ministry said Wednesday.

"The government aims to turn the country into one of the worlds top five players in the renewable energy sector," the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in a statement. "In 2015, Koreas exports of renewable energy are expected to reach $36.2 billion, becoming one of our key export items and creating some 110,000 jobs."

Under a plan finalized at a meeting of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth, the government will inject KRW7 trillion won by 2015 to develop new renewable energy projects, including solar and wind power, the ministry said.

Private businesses will also spend up to KRW33 trillion over the next five years, it added.

The global market for renewable energy was worth $162 billion last year, and has been growing at an average annual rate of 28.2% for the past five years, meaning the market will be worth $400 billion in 2015 if it continues to grow at a similar rate, according to the ministry.

source: APEC-VC Korea, www.koreaittimes.com