Korea weighs LNG for industrial clusters amid power crunch
The Korean government, local authorities, and major domestic semiconductor companies are initiating large-scale power infrastructure agreements to establish advanced mega-clusters in Yongin and the Honam region.
Our take
Will Korea's semiconductor clusters rely on new LNG plants, and what does that mean for renewables?
Whether Korea's semiconductor clusters will rely on new LNG plants is not settled, since this opinion column argues for on-site gas until transmission is built but cites no government decision on new gas capacity.
The column's case rests on fabs needing continuous power and process steam while long transmission lines face delays. What decides it is each cluster's power supply plan, which the column does not quote, with RE100 tenants pulling toward renewable supply.
For investors — Solar and wind developers should check each cluster's published supply plan before sizing PPA demand there, since on-site gas would not remove RE100 tenants' need for renewable supply.
Lenders should not treat this column as evidence of a gas build programme and should base cases on supply plans and permits.
Watch: The initiation of large-scale power infrastructure agreements for advanced mega-clusters by the Korean government, local authorities, and major domestic semiconductor companies.
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