South Korea to shrink biomass energy subsidies after criticism over link to deforestation The South Korean government will reduce subsidies for biomass energy after rising domestic and international criticism of its link to deforestation.
“While not without caveats, (the) decision by the South Korean government demonstrates that large-scale biomass power has no place in a renewable energy future,” Hansae Song, program lead at South Korea-based nongovernmental organization Solutions for Our Climate, said in an email to The Associated Press.
In a single recent the government gave approximately $688 million to support power plants using biomass, according to a press release from South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
South Korea has subsidized biomass energy with millions of dollars for more than a decade via their renewable energy certificates program.
Faced with limited domestic forest resources, South Korea’s biomass power industry has structured its business model around importing large volumes of wood pellets at lower prices from forest-rich nations.
