Tides of Change in South Korea

It could have easily been built in Shanghai, Hong Kong or Dubai, but the futuristic tower with the round turret looms over Gyeonggi Bay on South Korea’s west coast and watches over the world’s largest tidal power plant. The conditions are nearly as ideal as those in Brittany – what is now the world’s second largest tidal power plant was built near St. Malo in the 1960s. Sihwa Ho was originally envisioned as a government land reclamation project and freshwater reservoir, but it was a disappointment ecologically. The artificial lagoon silted up rapidly during the 1990s, and the water quality continued to deteriorate due to the massive introduction of wastewater of all kinds. As the need arose for regular exchanges of water between the artificial lagoon and the open sea, the plan for a tidal power plant emerged, and its implementation began in 2003. Its statistics are impressive: The tidal amplitude along the 12.7-kilometer reservoir can reach eight meters. The power plant produces 550 gigawatt hours of electricity annually – enough to cover a major city’s need for electricity.

Reverse Gear on Greenhouse Gases

Despite the Sihwa Ho power plant’s output, South Korea still has to make up a deficit in renewable energy. It has been a pioneer in formulating green growth goals for long time, said OECD Environmental Director Simon Upton in March 2017. But now the country must “turn the vision into reality.” Between 2000 and 2013, the emissions of greenhouse gases mainly rose in line with economic growth – by 39 percent, no less. It was the second-highest figure among the OECD states. Possibly inspired by the OECD statistics, President Moon Jae-in took action immediately after taking office in 2017. He eliminated tax incentives for electricity generated with coal and nuclear power. He also promoted natural gas and renewable energy as his top priorities and announced that the country would stop relying on nuclear power.