Last year, nuclear energy displaced coal in the domestic institutional sector, becoming the largest power source for the first time in history. The share of renewable energy generation also surpassed 10% for the first time, indicating that energy transition is becoming visible.
According to the '2024 Energy Supply and Demand Trends' released by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on the 11th, the total power generation last year amounted to 595.6 terawatt-hours (TWh), an increase of 1.3% from 2023. Among this, nuclear power generation accounted for 188.8 TWh, making up 31.7% of the total and ranking first.
Gas and coal generation were tied for second place, each contributing 167.2 TWh (28.1%). Coal had maintained its position as the largest power source in the country since 2007, but due to the expansion of eco-friendly policies and increased utilization of nuclear power, it lost its first-place ranking.
Renewable energy generation increased by 11.7% from the previous year to 63.2 TWh, accounting for 10.6% of total generation. This marks the first time it has reached double digits. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy explained that this was influenced by the expansion of Taeyang-centered installations, improved generation conditions, and revitalized investments.
Total energy consumption was recorded at 3.094 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE), a 1.7% increase compared to the previous year. The energy input unit indicating the amount of energy consumed to generate 1 million won of gross domestic product (GDP) improved by 0.1% to 0.133 TOE per million won. This is interpreted as an improvement in energy efficiency across society, along with the recovery of manufacturing production.
By energy source, coal consumption decreased by 6.2% overall, as it declined in both the power generation (-9.2%) and institutional sector (-2.2%). In contrast, oil consumption increased by 2.8% due to a recovery in petroleum-based chemical fuel demand within the institutional sector. Natural gas consumption rose by 5.9% due to increases in the power generation (5.0%) and industrial (14.4%) sectors, while nuclear consumption increased by 4.6% as a result of the operation of Shin Hanul Unit 2. Renewable and other energy consumption also increased by 6.2% each.
The total power generation capacity increased by 8.7 GW from the previous year to 153.1 gigawatts (GW). Among this, renewable capacity increased by 3.3 GW, growing 10.5% compared to the previous year. In particular, the installation of Taeyang facilities saw an additional 3.1 GW, marking a 13.1% increase. The capacity share was 30.3% (46.3 GW) for gas, 26.3% (40.2 GW) for coal, 22.7% (34.7 GW) for renewables, and 17.0% (26.1 GW) for nuclear.
Electricity consumption increased by 0.4% year-on-year to 536.6 TWh. Consumption in the institutional sector decreased by 1.7% due to the expansion of self-generation, but in the building sector, consumption increased by 2.2% due to cooling demand during the hot summer. In the transport sector, power usage on roads surged by 39.2% due to the spread of electric vehicle adoption, resulting in an overall increase of 15.8%.
Final energy consumption rose to 21.21 million TOE, an increase of 1.9%. In the institutional sector, consumption increased by a total of 3.5%, driven primarily by petrochemicals (7.5%) and machinery (6.0%), while steel saw a slight decline of 0.1%. The transport sector experienced declines in shipping (-18.6%), aviation (-45.7%), and railways (-1.5%), resulting in an overall decrease of 1.2%. In the building sector, urban gas usage shrank by 2.5% due to reduced heating demand in winter, leading to a total decrease of 0.3%.