Germany, once a manufacturing powerhouse in Europe based on technology, has recently fallen to the status of 'the sick man of Europe' due to its inability to handle high energy expenses. The United States, aiming for dominance in artificial intelligence (AI), has declared an energy emergency and is fully committed to securing energy. With the advancement of cutting-edge technology, energy has become a key determinant of national fortune. This article examines the current and future energy policies of South Korea through the cases of Germany and the United States.[Editor’s note]
U.S. President Donald Trump is reducing support for renewable energy while seeking to revive traditional energy industries such as oil and natural gas. This stands in stark contrast to the previous administration under Joe Biden. Trump signed an executive order on Jan. 20 (local time) to change and cancel Biden's administration's environmentally friendly policies under 'Unleashing American Energy.'
Trump has declared a 'national energy emergency' and is working to increase electricity supply. In order to grow the future industry of artificial intelligence (AI), vast amounts of power must be supplied continuously 24 hours a day, and it seems he has considered that renewable energy is difficult to manage reliably.
Trump has consistently criticized that the green energy industry incurs massive subsidies. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, last year, the amount supported in the wind and solar power sectors through tax credits was approximately $31.4 billion (about 45.5 trillion won). Reporting that there is currently a shortage of power to the extent that he declared a 'national energy emergency,' Trump stated he would not support renewable energy that requires subsidies.
The U.S. decided to abolish all subsidies previously given to the wind power market and also withdrew its policies for expanding electric vehicle adoption. The Trump administration defined energy sources as including 11 types such as oil, natural gas, coal, and uranium, excluding solar and wind. This means that renewable energy will not be recognized as energy by the U.S. government.
The artificial intelligence (AI) industry, in which the U.S. is competing for supremacy with China, requires stable electricity 24/7. Complex algorithms like deep learning models need high-performance hardware to operate, such as GPUs, and if power is cut off, processing speeds slow down or data may become corrupted. This also leads to issues with real-time data processing, cloud services, security, and backup systems. For AI semiconductors, power is directly related to quality.
Renewable energy generation facilities are significantly affected by weather, leading to high intermittency and uncertainty. There are concerns about overproduction of power or supply disruptions. While coal-fired and nuclear power plants have utilization rates of over 80%, solar energy has a variable operational time, resulting in a utilization rate of only about 15%.
There is a method to store the remaining power in energy storage systems (ESS·Energy Storage System) and transmit it when needed, but it cannot be considered a fundamental solution. Jeong Yong-hun, a professor in the Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), noted, 'Stating that one can use the excess power saved in the ESS during off-peak times does not present a realistic alternative when considering expenses and capacity. Overcoming the intermittency of renewable energy using ESS is practically impossible.'
The background to Trump's intention to reduce support for renewable energy is also related to the aging power grid issues. Renewable energy is usually built in small distributed forms, and the lower operational rates require more transmission networks compared to nuclear or coal. Most of the power grids established across the U.S. were built during the 1960s and 1970s. It is reported that 70% of the entire transmission network has entered the replacement phase. Aging wires incur significant energy loss while transporting high-voltage power and are vulnerable to weather changes, which can lead to massive outages when damaged.
A report titled 'Recommendations for Power Supply for Artificial Intelligence and Data Center Infrastructure' released by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) last August emphasizes the flexibility of power supply. It states that flexible approaches in generation, transmission, and distribution are crucial to respond to rapid changes in the power industry.
Jeong Beom-jin, a professor at Kyunghee University in nuclear engineering, stated, 'For the AI industry to develop, it should be possible to produce more electricity when it is needed and use less when it is not. The DOE report is essentially declaring that renewable energy cannot be used for AI data centers.'
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