Search

This paper proposes a practical framework for developing a net-zero electricity mix scenario (NEMS), which considers detailed conditions for supply of each energy. NEMS means a path scenario for power generation amount by year of each generation resource required to achieve carbon neutrality in 2050. NEMS framework refers to a methodological framework that contains procedures and requirements to continuously update the NEMS by comprehensively reflecting policy changes. For evaluation of NEMS, indicators such as a system inertia resource ratio (SIRR) and a fuel conversion rate (FCR) are proposed. The proposed framework and indicators are applied for the 2050 NEMS in Korea's electricity sector. The SIRR, indicating the ratio of inertial resources to total resources, projects values of 49% and 15% for the years 2030 and 2050, respectively. Furthermore, the FCR, reflecting the ratio of fuel conversion for resources undergoing this process, predicts that all targeted resources will have completed conversion by the year 2043. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semiconductor and display industries in the Republic of Korea make up the global electronics market with some of the greatest potential for growth due to accelerated digital transformation. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) present in the Earth's atmosphere could trap heat and contribute to the greenhouse effect, leading to global warming and climate change, and it is important to note that while GHGs are naturally present in the atmosphere and play a crucial role in regulating the Earth's temperature, human activities have significantly increased their concentration, leading to accelerated global warming and climate change. Volatile fluorinated compounds (FCs), including perfluorocompounds (PFCs), hydrofluorocompounds (HFCs), NF3, and SF6, are potent long-standing greenhouse gases that are used and emitted by electronics during the manufacturing and display stages of semiconductors. In accordance with global climate change, GHG reduction has developed as a demand of the times, and the electronics industry has also made efforts to reduce GHG emissions in response. Until now, process emissions from the use of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-GHGs) in various industries have been calculated according to the '06 IPCC G/L, and emission factors of '06 IPCC G/L have also been applied. However, the reduction and emission factors proposed in the IPCC G/L are values that do not reflect the latest and advanced reduction technologies in South Korean electronics, and national GHG emissions are overestimated. In this paper, by preparing accurate measurement methods for destruction removal efficiency (DRE), the use rate of gas (Ui), and b-product emission factors (Bby-product, i), which are characteristic parameters for estimating GHG Tier 3a emissions, we aim to increase the accuracy of GHG emissions by advancing emission factors that are unique to the semiconductor and display industries within the Republic of Korea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Republic of Korea has unique geographical characteristics similar to those of an island, resulting in an isolated power system. For this reason, securing sufficient operating reserves for the system's stability and reliability in the face of the intermittency of increasing variable renewable energy (VRE) is paramount, and this will pave the way to achieving the nation's decarbonization target and carbon neutrality. However, the current reserve-operation method in Republic of Korea does not take into account energy-system conditions, such as the intermittency of the VRE. Therefore, this paper presents an analysis of the impact of changes in reserve-operation methods on the electricity market in the future Republic of Korean power system, with the increased levels of VRE that are currently envisioned. Specifically, three reserve-operation methods, including Korea's current reserve-power-operation standards, were applied to the two power-system plans announced by the Korean government to analyze the annual generator operation and costs. The analysis results show that securing reserves proportional to the VRE would exert negative effects, such as increased power-generation costs and the curtailment of nuclear and VRE generation. These results can contribute to the estimation of operational reserves needed for high levels of VRE and to the design of new the Korean reserve market, to be introduced in 2025. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive use of fossil energy in industrialization has caused the frequent occurrence of global warming and environmental pollution issues, which seriously threaten the sustainable social and economic development of South Korea and other countries. In response to the international community's call to effectively address climate change, South Korea has announced achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. In this context, this paper takes the carbon emission of South Korea from 2016 to 2021 as a sample an d focuses on using the GM(1,1) model to predict the carbon emission change trajectory of South Korea in the process of achieving carbon neutrality. The results show: first, in the process of carbon neutrality, South Korea's carbon emissions show a downward trend, with an average annual rate of 2.34%. Second, by 2030, carbon emissions will decline to 502.34 Mt CO 2 e, down about 26.79% from the 2018 peak. By 2050, South Korea's carbon emissions will decline to 312.65 Mt CO 2 e, down about 54.44% from the 2018 peak. Third, it is difficult for South Korea to achieve its carbon neutrality target by 2050 based solely on its forest carbon sink storage capacity. Therefore, this study is expected to provide a reference for improving the carbon neutrality promotion strategy in South Korea and strengthening the construction of relevant systems of carbon neutrality, and so can provide some reference for other countries, including China, to improve policy design to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of the global economy. • A GM(1,1) model is used. • By 2050, South Korea's carbon emission will drop to 312.65 MtCO2e. • South Korea will achieve the carbon neutrality target in 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When solar panels reach end-of-life, the disposal of solar panel waste is an issue of concern because it creates environmental pollution if it is improperly disposed of. It is expected that such waste will probably be increasing as the widespread use of renewable energy is adopted by taking measures associated with carbon neutrality. Thus, accurate prediction of solar panel waste with future demands for renewable energy is urgently needed for sustainable waste management. This study examined the amounts of solar panels to be retried by 2050 under three scenarios (S1-BAU, S2, S3). The amounts of solar panels to be retired are estimated by using the PBM (population balance model) with the Weibull distribution. According to the carbon neutral scenario (S3), the total amounts of solar panels to be retired are anticipated to be around 172 kt in 2030, 932 kt in 2040, and 3146 kt in 2050. The total volume of retired solar panels was projected to be 168 kt in 2030, 820 kt in 2040, and 2331 kt in 2050 under the government-led scenario (S2). The average recovery of end-of-life solar panels produced by the three scenarios in 2050 is 1531 kt, 337 kt, 535 kt, and 22 kt for glass, aluminum, silicon, and copper, respectively. Economic benefits by resource recovery of retired solar panels in 2050 range from $25.6 million in S1 to $519.1 million in S3. Based on the sensitivity analysis with the weight of solar panel (5% and 10% reduction), the results indicated that the annual volumes of retired solar panels mostly fell within the range of 4.9% to 10.0% in 2050. To confirm the predicted volumes of retired solar panels in this study, a further study is warranted because they can be influenced by other factors (e.g., weight, technology development, early loss rate, or reuse and recycling options). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Korea is a signatory of the Paris Agreement and has announced its aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. However, South Korea's current policy trajectory is not compatible with maintaining a global temperature rise below 2 °C. Climate change has not been a dominant electoral issue in South Korea, with national concerns being prioritized. A Paris-Agreement-compatible development pathway could synergistically improve ambient air quality in South Korea. This research examines the gains of a climate action pathway that would achieve 2050 carbon neutrality, compared to a business-as-usual (BAU) pathway, in South Korea. The work aims to add further evidence to the potential national gains from strong climate action across all sectors in South Korea. The paper argues that by focusing on and estimating national gains, the momentum for enhanced climate policy action can be intensified by framing robust climate action as an opportunity rather than a cost. Through a climate action pathway, South Korea could avoid 835 years of life lost (YLL) in 2030, 2237 YLL in 2040 and 3389 YLL in 2050. Through this pathway, South Korea could also cumulatively abate 5539 million tons of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) in greenhouse gas emissions over the 2022–2050 period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Energy signature-based clustering method is proposed for urban building energy analytics. • Combination of energy signature and symbolic transformation is proposed for clustering. • Case study is conducted to analyze energy usage patterns under the COVID-19 pandemic. • Open data problems and energy pattern findings are discussed for a target city. Under the necessity for urban energy savings and the importance of energy demand changes, this paper proposes energy analytics of urban buildings using a novel clustering method with open data. In the proposed method, the concept of energy signatures is introduced, and the signatures are defined as the representative symbols in the symbolic hierarchical clustering. This method can advance the existing clustering method or symbolic aggregate approximation (SAX) with limited energy usage patterns by introducing energy signatures with various pieces of energy information into the symbolic transformation. The proposed method can scientifically support tracking building energy usage and patterns, evaluating the existing concepts (such as green retrofitting and zero energy buildings) and advanced technologies, and the decision-making process for new policies under the global carbon neutrality scenarios. In a case study applied to a city using open energy data (in South Korea), the proposed method determined five representative clusters/areas, revealing the open data quality problems (anomaly and missing data), energy usage changes (e.g., energy usage polarization) caused by COVID-19, and the necessity of classifying building types in terms of energy usage patterns. Specifically, the cluster for decreasing energy patterns accounted for approximately 37%, and the increasing patterns accounted for 25%. Educational buildings accounted for 70% of the decreasing patterns, and technical and medical research facilities accounted for 76% of the increasing patterns under the COVID-19. Approximately 93% of missing data was found in the residential buildings. Anomaly data accounted for 10.9% in the total data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Korea and Japan are two large contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions. In October 2020, President Moon Jae-in and Prime Minister Suga Yoshihide declared that their countries would aim for carbon neutrality by 2050. The Moon administration presented the Korean version of the New Deal that includes its Green New Deal, whereas the Suga administration completed its strategy aiming for green growth. Both countries emphasize the importance of energy transition through the expansion of green energy in power generation. However, they show some significant differences in dealing with nuclear energy. The purpose of this article is to compare the two countries' energy policies and analyze the rationales and political dynamics behind their different approaches to nuclear energy. The study reveals that the contrast between the two political systems has resulted in differences between their policies. This study depends on comparative methods that use primary sources, such as governmental documents and reports by local news media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Korea has been expanding its investment in renewal energy distribution and technology development. However, with this rapid expansion of renewable energy, public concern about it has grown. This study developed and used a big data analysis-based procedure to analyze the questions registered on Naver, the largest portal site in Korea, from 2008 to 2020 to identify public concern over renewable energy. The big data analysis-based procedure consisted of two steps. The first was a frequency analysis to identify the most frequently registered words. The second was to classify questions using term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) weight and cosine similarity based on word2vec. The analysis revealed the most frequently registered words related to renewable energy, such as "solar power," "power generation," "energy," and "wind power." It also revealed the most frequently registered questions, such as those related to solar panel installation, renewable energy generation methods, and certificates. To continue expanding renewable energy, it is becoming increasingly important to understand the public's concerns and create a method to resolve their objections to renewable energy. It is expected that the procedure in this study may provide relevant insight for the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]