ESS Surplus Power Goes to Waste, Highlighting Urgent Need for Renewable Energy Solutions

A problem is emerging where electricity generated from renewable sources is abundant but is being wasted because it cannot be stored or utilized. Increasing the capacity of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) is being pursued as a national priority. ESS is an electricity storage system that stores surplus power and uses it when needed. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind power have intermittency issues, meaning their generation fluctuates depending on weather and terrain, and ESS aims to solve this.

The government held an ESS-related meeting on the 19th and plans to focus on ESS technology development to compensate for the irregular power generation of renewable energy. In this regard, ESS technology trends are being promoted as the latest strategy. Currently, chemical batteries such as lithium-ion batteries are mainly used in ESS, and with advancements in scientific technology, large-capacity power storage has become possible. The South Korean government aims to secure competitiveness in the ESS sector based on lithium iron phosphate, and in the long term, seeks to build competitiveness in non-lithium, long-duration energy storage systems.

Large-scale projects ranging from hundreds of MW to GW levels are rapidly expanding, centered around the United States, China, and Europe. Domestic industries, however, mostly remain at the scale of a few MW to tens of MW, lacking experience in large-scale operation data, grid connection, and system integration.

On the 19th, the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment held a meeting on 'Next-Generation ESS' for a green transformation centered on renewable energy and AI transition. Minister Kim Sung-hwan of Climate, Energy, and Environment inspected the production and demonstration sites of next-generation long-duration ESS, reaffirming his commitment to technological development.