[THE INVESTOR] North Korea is pushing to embrace renewable energy such as solar and wind to address the country’s power shortage issues and make profit by selling tradable carbon emissions credits, according to a think tank’s report published on June 28.

The country seeks to develop green energy and reduce greenhouse gases by ratifying laws related to environment protection and waste management, the study conducted by Hyundai Research Institute said. 


Currently, the North Korean government is carrying out a total of eight schemes called clean development mechanism, aiming to build six hydroelectric power plants and two natural gas-fired power plants.

This scheme allows developing countries to earn tradable carbon credits for emissions reductions from clean-energy projects.

The projects are officially registered with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, according to the report.

If successful, the country’s energy scarcity will be partly resolved as the six hydroelectric plants are expected to generate some 260,000 kWh power once they start operations.

North Korea produces 21.6 billion kilowatt hour per year. Hydropower represents 60.2 percent of the total energy produced in the country and the rest is from thermal power.

By selling carbon emissions credits, the government also aims to make a profit of 6.46 billion won (US$5.51 million) a year after completing the construction of eight power plants.

The report said that Pyongyang signed a contract with Topic Energo in Czech Republic and a trading firm in the UK to sell the offsets called Certified Emissions Reductions or CERs, that are generated from registered CDM projects, such as wind farms, that are rewarded for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By Park Han-na (hnpark@heraldcorp.com)