Renewable energy developments in South Korea, the Philippines, and Taiwan

Because the world shifts in direction of renewable vitality techniques, authorized frameworks are being developed to institutionalise developments in south Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan

The Republic of Korea (South Korea) promulgated a Particular Act on the Promotion of Offshore Wind Energy Distribution and Industrial Growth (OSW Promotion Act) in March 2025, which considerably alters the regulatory panorama for home offshore wind energy growth.

The OSW Promotion Act will exchange South Korea’s current “open door” coverage for offshore wind energy growth with a government-directed and facilitated course of, together with a “one-stop store” regulatory committee and a “fast-track” to acquire most required licences and permits. Particular particulars are anticipated to be publicised (with a chance for public remark) within the coming months by way of an enforcement decree and enforcement guidelines supplemental to the OSW Promotion Act.

Implications

The important thing implications of the OSW Promotion Act embrace the next.

Quick cessation of recent PWOPs. The restriction on the issuance of recent PWOPs is efficient instantly on promulgation. Going ahead, any OSW tasks that haven’t already obtained a PWOP could solely be developed following choice to take part in a government-designated energy era zone.

One-stop store and fast-track permits anticipated to streamline growth. The institution of the OSW Energy Era Committee as a “one-stop” authority overseeing most features of the event of OSW tasks and the “fast-track” licensing and allow course of that can grant deemed attainment of as much as 28 development-related licences and permits inside energy era zones will seemingly cut back the general time required to finish OSW tasks in South Korea.

A leg up for government-led tasks. Sure provisions of the OSW Promotion Act set up grounds for preferential help to OSW tasks developed by state-owned enterprises and quasi-governmental establishments, which is able to seemingly improve GenCo participation in OSW mission growth.

KIM & CHANG39, Sajik-ro 8-gil, Jongno-guSeoul 03170, KoreaTel: +82 2 3703 1114Email: lawkim@kimchang.comwww.kimchang.com

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Roadmap to exploring renewable vitality within the Philippines

Harvesting renewable vitality (RE) assets within the Philippines is legislated beneath the Republic Act No. 9513, in any other case referred to as the Renewable Power Act of 2008 (RE Legislation). This dictates the general framework for exploiting and producing biomass, geothermal, photo voltaic, hydro, ocean and wind energy.

It supplies a strategic programme to extend utilisation of renewable vitality and institutionalises growth of nationwide and native capabilities in changing RE assets into helpful energy.

The legislation additionally promotes environment friendly and cost-effective industrial utility of those RE techniques by offering fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to builders.

Fiscal incentives

The exploration, growth and utilisation of photo voltaic, wind, hydro and ocean or tidal vitality just isn’t topic to the 40% international fairness limitation, besides in respect of appropriating water straight from the supply for energy era.

Fiscal incentives are granted to certified RE builders and producers, fabricators and suppliers of regionally produced RE gear, offered that required certifications or accreditations have been secured.

These incentives embrace: an revenue tax vacation of seven years; a VAT zero score on RE developer’s related native purchases; and a VAT zero score on the entire technique of exploring and creating RE assets as much as conversion into energy, which incorporates however just isn’t restricted to companies carried out by subcontractors and/or contractors. Customs responsibility exemption on importation of equipment, gear supplies and components are a part of the incentives.

Internet working loss carry-over incurred throughout the first three years of business operation can also be claimed for a interval of seven consecutive taxable years, together with a particular company revenue tax fee of 10% after expiration of the revenue tax vacation, and VAT zero score on the sale of energy generated.

RE service contract

Enterprises exploring, creating and utilising RE assets within the Philippines want to use for an RE service (or working) contract.

The method and process for the appliance, award and administration of this contract are prescribed by the Revised Omnibus Tips Governing the Award and Administration of Renewable Power Contracts and the Registration of Renewable Power Builders, issued by the Division of Power (DOE).

An RE contract has a time period of 25 years from execution date, which can be renewed for one more 25 years. Making use of to geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy tasks, it covers two levels of growth.

The pre-development stage entails the conduct of a preliminary evaluation and feasibility examine as much as monetary closing and approval of declaration of commerciality of the mission, together with identification of the manufacturing space.

On the issuance of a certificates of affirmation of commerciality, a growth/industrial stage follows involving the event, development and industrial operation of the mission, together with manufacturing and utilisation of RE assets.

For photo voltaic, biomass and waste-to-energy tasks, an RE working contract additionally covers two levels of growth.

The event stage entails the conduct of a ultimate feasibility examine as much as monetary closing, development, set up, testing and commissioning till making use of for a certificates of compliance.

The industrial stage entails industrial operation of the mission, which commences with the Power Regulatory Fee (ERC) issuing a certificates of compliance licence to function an influence plant to generate electrical energy.

Efficiency bond

An RE developer was initially required to publish a efficiency bond or another assure amounting to a minimum of the minimal expenditure dedication for the relevant contract 12 months as a situation for the RE contract to take impact (though tasks with a capability of 5MW or beneath have been exempt from such a requirement).

Builders failing to look at or carry out their obligations beneath the submitted work programme could possibly be penalised towards the efficiency bond by the DOE.

However the subject of efficiency bonds is at present being re-evaluated. In December 2024, the DOE introduced that it’s firming up a coverage that can cut back the efficiency bond necessities for offshore wind tasks, from 20% to five%. Extra lately, posting of efficiency bonds was suspended till additional discover.

Feed-in tariff (FIT)

The FIT system affords cost-based compensation to RE builders to advertise and assist finance investments. It affords assured FIT funds on a hard and fast fee per kWh foundation for 20 years to eligible crops.

The FIT allowance is the subsidy for cost of the FIT. It’s a uniform cost on electrical energy shoppers provided with energy by the distribution and transmission amenities.

The Nationwide Transmission Company (TRANSCO), a authorities owned and managed company and proprietor of the transmission property, collects the proceeds beneath the FIT allowance, the speed of which is permitted by the ERC.

The GEAP

The inexperienced vitality public sale programme (GEAP) is a aggressive bidding course of aiming to speed up growth and commercialisation of RE techniques whereas encouraging free and energetic non-public sector participation and funding.

The GEAP consists of the inexperienced vitality public sale (GEA) and the inexperienced vitality tariff (GET).

The GEA facilitates the choice of eligible crops for RE provide by way of aggressive bidding. Amenities will provide new and current capacities in megawatts, and costs not increased than the GEA reserve worth (GEAR worth).

The ERC determines the GEAR worth. The bid costs of GEA contributors are ranked from highest to lowest, from which the DOE declares the profitable bidders.

The GET can be decided primarily based on the profitable bidder’s bid and paid out of the Inexperienced Power Public sale Allowance.

Just like the FIT allowance, the Inexperienced Power Public sale Allowance is a uniform change to be decided by the ERC and administered by TRANSCO.

However so far, the ERC has not issued the Tips on the Assortment of the Inexperienced Power Public sale Allowance (GEA-All) and Disbursement of the GEA-All Fund, which would be the foundation for dedication of the GEA-All.

Fee of the GET is ruled by the renewable vitality cost settlement to be entered into between the profitable bidder and TRANSCO. Since implementation of the GEAP, the DOE has performed three rounds of the GEA. The primary milestone spherical was performed in 2022, awarding 1,966.93MW price of renewable vitality tasks for supply from 2022 to 2025.

The second spherical (GEA-2) performed in 2023 awarded 3,440.76MW price of tasks for supply from 2024 to 2026.

A 3rd spherical of GEA (GEA-3) was performed on 11 February 2025 with an provided capability of seven,500MW with supply timelines between 2025 and 2035. This exceeded the set up goal of 4,650MW.

The DOE can also be planning two extra rounds. GEA-4 will cater to built-in renewable vitality and vitality storage techniques, whereas GEA-5 will cowl offshore wind applied sciences.

Renewable portfolio requirements

Renewable portfolio requirements (RPS) oblige energy business contributors resembling distribution utilities or suppliers to supply or produce a specified fraction of their electrical energy from eligible RE assets.

Mandated contributors are:

distribution utilities for his or her captive clients;
retail electrical energy suppliers for the contestable market;
era corporations for his or her precise provide to their straight linked clients; and
different entities really helpful by the Nationwide Renewable Power Board.

Market and certificates

To facilitate compliance with the RPS, the RE Legislation mandated the DOE to ascertain the Renewable Power Market (REM), the place buying and selling of Renewable Power Certificates (RECs) similar to vitality generated from eligible amenities could also be made in compliance with the RPS. The DOE declared full industrial operation of the REM efficient on 26 December 2024.

RECs are issued for each MW hour of renewable electrical energy generated by REM turbines. They’re issued by the Impartial Electrical energy Market Operator of the Philippines, the renewable vitality registrar. The REM is run and operated by the renewable vitality registrar.

Pursuant to REM guidelines, the Philippine Renewable Power Market System was established, which is an enterprise-grade automated platform for use by the renewable vitality registrar in performing its features, resembling allocation and buying and selling of RECs, and monitoring and evaluation of compliance of mandated contributors with their obligations beneath the RPS.

PUNOLAW33rd Flooring, The Podium West Tower,12 ADB Avenue, Ortigas CenterMandaluyong Metropolis, Philippines 1550Tel: +63 2 8631 1261Email: information@punolaw.comWebsite: www.punolaw.com

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A information to vitality legislation in Taiwan

In response to the worldwide crucial to mitigate carbon emissions, the federal government of Taiwan has established an formidable goal of attaining “web zero emissions by 2050”. The federal government has delineated key methods, together with the decarbonisation of the general electrical energy provide. Particularly, the federal government goals for 60–70% of whole electrical energy era to come back from renewable vitality and 20–27% from thermal energy era utilizing carbon seize expertise.

The coverage framework stipulates an put in capability of 29 gigawatts (GW) of renewable vitality by 2025, rising to between 40GW and 55GW by 2050, with a major emphasis on offshore wind and solar energy. Concurrently, the federal government is actively selling the event of different vitality sources, together with geothermal, biomass, ocean vitality and hydrogen vitality. Moreover, the Renewable Power Growth Act (REDA) was amended in 2019, and once more in 2023, to reinforce the authorized framework supporting renewable vitality initiatives, guaranteeing a steady energy provide whereas addressing air air pollution and decreasing carbon emissions.

To fulfill the availability chain necessities and cling to environmental, social and governance requirements, and to handle the demand for company electrical energy purchases, the federal government of Taiwan is advancing the deployment of inexperienced electrical energy. This initiative contains encouraging the sale and provide of inexperienced vitality and establishing a inexperienced electrical energy buying and selling mechanism, which encompasses amendments to the Electrical energy Enterprise Act and the REDA. These amendments will facilitate the availability of electrical energy to finish customers by renewable vitality turbines or retailers.

Offshore wind energy

Within the context of offshore wind energy growth, the federal government has delineated the method into three phases: the demonstration part (part one); the potential websites part (part two); and the zonal growth part (part three).

Throughout part one, two demonstration tasks have been developed between 2013 and 2021, leading to an put in capability of about 237 megawatts (MW). In part two, the Ministry of Financial Affairs (MOEA) allotted grid capability to 16 tasks, which incorporates these developed in two levels, culminating in a complete put in capability of roughly 5.5GW. 9 of the 16 tasks have achieved industrial operation between late 2023 and early 2025.

Concerning part three, the federal government has set laws for allocating a further 15GW of offshore wind vitality capability, scheduled for commissioning between 2026 and 2035. Underneath these laws, 9GW can be allotted throughout three phases (designated as R3.1, R3.2 and R3.3) to fulfill grid connection targets between 2026 and 2031, with the remaining 6GW set for commissioning between 2032 and 2035.

By public sale processes, about 3GW of grid capability was awarded to 5 tasks in R3.1, and a further 2.7GW was awarded to a different 5 tasks in R3.2. The administration contracts between the federal government and every developer for R3.1 and R3.2 have been signed in late 2023 and early 2025, respectively. The public sale date for R3.3 can be introduced by the federal government at a later stage.

From part two, the federal government launched native content material programmes requiring offshore wind builders to decide to partaking with and procuring services and products from native suppliers. The native content material necessities grew to become extra advanced and stringent in R3.1 and R3.2, masking numerous parts together with wind generators, cables, electrical energy amenities, foundations, vessels and different native companies.

In R3.1, the native content material necessities are divided into necessary and bonus objects. For R3.2, the federal government allotted 120 factors to every recognized native merchandise, and every developer taking part within the R3.2 public sale is required to decide to localised objects totalling a minimal of 70 factors.

Nevertheless, following the submission of public sale proposals by R3.2 builders in April 2024, the EU requested dispute settlement consultations on the WTO relating to Taiwan’s native content material standards for offshore wind tasks in July 2024. In November 2024, the EU and Taiwan reached an understanding in regards to the WTO dispute over Taiwan’s offshore wind auctions.

To handle the EU’s issues relating to Taiwan’s native content material necessities, the federal government confirmed that no necessary native content material necessities will apply to R3.3 or any future offshore wind tasks. For R3.1 tasks, for the reason that administration contracts have been signed by all R3.1 builders, they continue to be obligated to adjust to their native content material commitments as stipulated in these contracts. Concerning R3.2 builders, the MOEA issued tips to ease the evaluation requirements for enjoyable native content material commitments. Particularly, an R3.2 developer could, pursuant to the R3.2 administration contracts, apply to the MOEA for exemption from an area content material dedication if the amount or supply schedule of regionally produced or provided merchandise can not meet the grid connection deadline set within the R3.2 settlement, anticipated to be the tip of 2028 or 2029.

Solar energy

Land is a essential issue within the growth of large-scale photo voltaic tasks. Following native practices, most ground-mounted photo voltaic mission websites are situated in non-urban areas. Underneath the Regional Plan Act (RPA), photo voltaic tasks can solely happen on land with permissible zoning and the required land utilization allow, in line with numerous utilization restrictions outlined within the RPA and its laws. If circumstances are met, builders should apply for a land class and/or zoning change to proceed with ground-mounted photo voltaic tasks. The federal government initially deliberate to reorganise land categorisation by implementing a brand new algorithm to interchange the RPA, referred to as the Spatial Planning Act (SPA), which was anticipated to take impact on 1 Might 2025.

Nevertheless, to offer native governments and industries extra time to adapt to the SPA, the Legislative Yuan amended the SPA in December 2024, suspending the practical zone regime till 30 April 2031. In consequence, the unique land conversion regime beneath the RPA will proceed to use after 30 April 2025.

To advertise photo voltaic tasks, the MOEA and the Power Administration (EA) have supported aqua-solar and agri-solar initiatives, and the photo voltaic tasks that incorporate battery vitality storage techniques (photo voltaic BESS tasks) previously two years. For aqua/agri-solar tasks, there are two fundamental challenges:

because of sure authorities restrictions, mission corporations with majority international possession should collaborate with native land administration consultants to acquire and keep the land utilization allow; and
the era mission firm should be certain that fishery or agricultural manufacturing continues alongside the operation interval of photo voltaic tasks.

Concerning photo voltaic BESS tasks, the MOEA and the EA will subject annual tips for bidding on these tasks. The federal government affords two key incentives to encourage the event of photo voltaic BESS tasks. First, there are differentiated tariff charges for energy discharged by the BESS in comparison with that generated by the photo voltaic mission, with extra beneficial charges utilized to the BESS. Second, profitable bidders for grid capability related to the BESS could decide to develop a brand new mission with precedence rights, equal to the capability of the BESS.

The MOEA will proceed to safe land by way of inter-agency collaboration whereas rising set up capability by pursuing a three-pronged method:

Authorities-to-government co-ordination mechanism. The MOEA will set up communication channels between central and native governments to cut back market entry obstacles for builders;
Rooftop tasks incentive. A rooftop incentive mechanism can be launched to reward small-scale tasks, encouraging installations. For brand spanking new massive buildings, necessary laws would require buildings with a ground space of 300 ping (991 sq. metres) or extra to put in photo voltaic tasks; and
Help and communication platform. A platform for utility steerage and communication can be established, that includes a single-window advisory service, a administration platform for giant tasks and an area communication platform.

Different new renewables

In mild of the online zero carbon emissions goal and the dedication to part out nuclear energy, the Government Yuan and the MOEA are centered on maximising renewable vitality sources, alongside offshore wind and photo voltaic tasks.

From 2025 to 2035, new applied sciences would require speedy funding in areas resembling hydrogen vitality, geothermal vitality and ocean vitality.

For geothermal tasks, the aim publish of 2026 is to implement essential applied sciences like enhanced geothermal techniques and superior geothermal techniques, as most geothermal potential lies at depths exceeding 3,000 metres.

In ocean vitality, an indication website utilising medium-sized floats is anticipated by 2025. The plan additionally contains two hydrogen refuelling stations by 2025.

LEE AND LI, ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW8F, No 555, Sec 4, Zhongxiao E Rd,Taipei 110055, Taiwan, ROCTel: +886 2 2763 8000Email: attorneys@leeandli.comwww.leeandli.com/EN

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