Establishing a new guideline for South Korea's Renewable Portfolio Standard

Abstract

Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) are the two most popular renewable energy regulations practiced around the world. The Feed-in Tariff mechanism is more popular in the European countries, while the Renewable Portfolio Standard is popular among several Asian and American countries. Recently, South Korea replaced its FIT mechanism with RPS in an effort to improve its renewable energy sector and also cut government expenses incurred in the FIT model. A policy change like this needs to be analyzed as a part of an entire system in order to understand the different domains and the players that are directly or indirectly affected by the policy change. In the current study, a Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) approach was used to compare RPS policy frameworks as implemented in the US, China, Australia, EU, and the UK in order to highlight best practices and provide benchmarks for the design of an effective RPS system in Korea. The findings from this comparative study are relevant for policymaking in Korea as they provide suggestions on how to modify RPS policy to incentivize the production of renewable energy. An RPS system based on Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), anchored on national Renewable Energy Targets (RETs) and that allows for the use of alternative energy generation technology is recommended for Korea..