South Korea to boost green energy

SEOUL, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- South Korea expects to increase alternative energy spending by 52 percent in 2010, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

Spending by the private sector and state-run companies could increase to $4.8 billion from $3.14 billion in 2009, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy told Bloomberg.

The ministry forecasts investment in solar to reach $2.61 billion in 2010, up from $1.65 billion in 2009, while spending on wind power may climb by 24 percent to $532,000.

According to 2009 data from the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning, the technology level of Korea's new and renewable energy industry is relatively low compared with those of industry leaders, China's state-run news agency Xinhua reports.

In its report to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak Wednesday, the Presidential Committee on Green Growth said the government would push for the introduction of a law on emissions trading and a greenhouse gas inventory.

The move is part of a wider effort to cut South Korea's carbon emissions by 30 percent from a 2020 forecast, or a 4 percent reduction from 2005 levels.

Korea is Asia's fourth-largest energy consumer and polluter.

In 2009 Lee set out a five-year green-growth plan that calls for the country to spend 2 percent of its gross domestic product each year in developing environmentally friendly businesses and projects.

"We prepared for a variety of measures for green growth last year. This year we will put those plans in motion and yield results," Green Growth Committee Chairman Kim Hyung-kook told reporters Wednesday.

The committee said it plans to speed up the development of 10 major green technologies, including energy-efficient light-emitting diodes, solar energy, a smart electricity grid, hybrid cars and advanced nuclear reactors, Yonhap News Agency reports.

South Korea also plans to introduce 28,000 environmentally friendly buses by 2012.

The committee said South Korea would strengthen international cooperation to provide developing nations with cleaner water resources and push for a joint study with the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on green-growth strategy.

Yonhap reported that in tandem with the government's initiatives, South Korea-based Pohang Iron and Steel Co. has said it will invest $6.4 billion in renewable energy businesses. POSCO, which accounts for about 10 percent of South Korea's gross carbon dioxide, aims to cut 14 million tons in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.