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Nearly 4 in 10 firms participating in RE100 initiative face difficulties in sourcing renewable power

Published: 20 Jan. 2026, 10:58 Updated: 20 Jan. 2026, 14:31

A model of Posco International’s renewable energy power plant is on display at the Posco booth at Smart Energy Plus 2025, held at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul on Oct. 15, 2025. [NEWS1]

Nearly 40 percent of Korean companies participating in the global Renewable Energy 100 percent (RE100) initiative are struggling to source renewable energy due to high costs and limited procurement options, a report showed Tuesday.

Out of 183 Korean firms that have joined the global campaign, 70, or 38.3 percent, said they had difficulty sourcing enough renewable energy to power all of their operations with 100 percent renewable electricity in 2024, according to the report from the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), citing data from the nonprofit Climate Group and the Carbon Disclosure Project.

It marked a sharp increase from 39 companies in 2022, representing an 80 percent rise over the two-year period. Cost burdens and a lack of available procurement mechanisms were cited as the main reasons for the difficulty in sourcing renewable power.

Compared with other major economies, Korea's 2024 figure was significantly higher than that of 20 companies in the United States, 29 in China and 48 in Japan.

Based on the findings, the FKI said it has recommended a list of 20 policy agenda items to the government to facilitate companies' participation in the RE100 initiative, including measures to provide financial incentives for firms that directly purchase electricity from power producers.

"It is necessary to improve systems and policy support to help Korean companies maintain international competitiveness while smoothly securing renewable energy," an FKI official said.

Yonhap