South Korea Renewable Capacity Passes Coal at 41,040 MW, KPX Says
South Korea's renewables topped coal by 283 MW on Oct. 21, the first time, Korea Power Exchange data show. Grid hosting limits and connection rules due in January 2027 now come into focus.
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Renewables reached 41,040 MW of installed capacity on Oct. 21, ahead of coal's 40,757 MW, according to KPX data reported by pv magazine.
Illustration (AI-generated)
South Korea's installed renewable capacity reached 41,040 MW on Oct. 21, passing coal-fired capacity of 40,757 MW by 283 MW for the first time, according to the Korea Power Exchange (KPX), the country's power market operator, as reported by pv magazine.
Renewables are 283 MW ahead of coal and still behind LNG in installed capacity, not generation, according to KPX data.
Illustration (AI-generated)
Renewables now hold 25.4% of installed capacity and rank second behind LNG, which stands at 46,788 MW. The gap to LNG is about 5,748 MW. KPX said that if current trends continue, renewables could overtake LNG within two to three years.
The figures measure installed capacity, not electricity generation. Capacity is what a grid operator has to connect, balance and reinforce, so the crossover matters for transmission and distribution planning even though it says little about how much power each source actually delivers.
