Energy in North Korea describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in North Korea.
North Korea is a net energy exporter. Primary energy use in North Korea was 224 TWh and 9 TWh per million people in 2009. [1] The country's primary sources of power are hydro and coal after Kim Jong Il implemented plans that saw the construction of large hydroelectric power stations across the country. [2]
According to The World Bank, in 2021, 52.63% of North Korea’s population had access to electricity. [3] Many households are restricted to 2 hours' power per day due to priority being given to manufacturing plants. [4] [5] [6]
Energy in North Korea [8] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capita | Prim. energy | Production | Export | Electricity | CO2-emission | |
Million | TWh | TWh | TWh | TWh | Mt | |
2004 | 22.38 | 237 | 223 | -15 | 18.50 | 70.20 |
2007 | 23.78 | 214 | 229 | 15 | 18.12 | 62.32 |
2008 | 23.86 | 236 | 242 | 6 | 19.54 | 69.37 |
2009 | 23.91 | 224 | 236 | 12 | 17.76 | 66.20 |
2012 | 24.45 | 18.21 | 64.82 | |||
2012R | 24.76 | 164 | 236 | 72 | 16.20 | 45.42 |
2013 | 24.90 | 168 | 280 | 112 | 16.44 | 47.68 |
Change 2004-09 | 6.8% | -5.4% | 5.5% | - | -4.0% | -5.7% |
Mtoe = 11.63 TWh, Prim. energy includes energy losses that are 2/3 for nuclear power [9] 2012R = CO2 calculation criteria changed, numbers updated |
According to statistics compiled by the South Korean agency, Statistics Korea, based on International Energy Agency (IEA) data, per capita electricity consumption fell from its peak in 1990 of 1247 kilowatt hours to a low of 712 kilowatt hours in 2000. It has slowly risen since to 819 kilowatt hours in 2008, a level below that of 1970. [10] [11]
In 2017 many homes were using small standalone photovoltaic systems. [12] [13] In 2019 it was estimated 55% of North Korean households used solar panels. [14]
By 2019, electricity production had reached a level where any supply blackouts were of relatively short durations. [15]
North Korea imports crude oil from a pipeline that originates in Dandong, China. The crude oil is refined at the Ponghwa Chemical Factory in Sinuiju, North Korea. [16] North Korea has a smaller oil refinery, the Sŭngri Refinery, on its Russian border. The country had been able to import oil from China and the Soviet Union for below market prices, but with the end of the Cold War, these deals were not renewed, leading to an explosive rise in oil prices for Pyongyang and a drop in imports. [17]
North Korea imports jet fuel, diesel fuel, and gasoline from two refineries in Dalian, China, which arrive at the North Korean port of Nampo. [16]
North Korea is reliant on hydro power, which leads to shortages in winter, when there is little rainfall and ice blocks the flow of rivers. [4] [2] Power plants that were never completed/ started up are shown in Salmon
Name | Location | Installed capacity | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Huichon Hydroelectric Power Station | Huichon | 300 MW | Allegedly fails to generate power at full capacity due to harsh weather. [2] |
Sup'ung Dam | Yalu River | 630 MW [18] [Note 1] | Units 3, 6, 7 generate power to North Korea at 60 Hz; unit 2 can generate either for China or North Korea. [19] The power plant is operated by North Korea. Seven 90 MW units. [18] |
Unbong Dam | Yalu River | 430 MW [20] [Note 1] | Units 2, 4 supply power to North Korea at 60 Hz. The power plant is operated by North Korea. [20] |
Taipingwan Dam | Yalu River | 190 MW [21] | Operated by China. [21] |
Wiwon Dam | Yalu River | 222.5 MW [22] | |
Kumyagang Power Station No.2 | Kumya County | 7.5 MW [23] | |
Kumyagang Army-People Power Station | Kumya County | large [24] | |
Yonsan | Yonsan County | small | 2 small generators [25] |
Tanchon Power Station No.1 to 6 | Tanchon | small to medium | series of 6 small to medium size hydropower stations. [26] |
Hungju Youth Hydroelectric Power Station No. 1 to 3 | Kanggye | small | series of 3 small hydropower stations. [27] |
Jangjagang Hydroelectric Power Station | Manpo | 90 MW [28] | series of small hydropower stations. [27] |
Pukchon | Kanggye | small | small hydropower stations. [29] |
Kanggye Youth Power Station | Kanggye | 224.6 MW [28] | |
Paektusan Hero Youth Power station | Sodusu River | large | series of 3 power hydropower stations. [30] |
Taechon Hydroelectric Power Station | Taeryong River | 746 MW [28] | Series of hydropower plants on the Taeryong River. [27] |
Taeryong Hydroelectric Power Station | small to medium | ||
Huchang Mine No. 4 Power Station | Kimhyongjik County | small | Built to support Huchang mine. [31] |
Pukchang Thermal Power Complex | Pukchang County | 1600 MW | Highest generation capacity of power plants in North Korea. [32] |
Pyongyang Thermal Power Plant | Pyongchon-guyok | 700 MW [33] | |
Kangdong Thermal Power Plant | Kangdong County | between 100 and 300 MW [34] | Construction began in late 2010, but stalled sometime after 2014 |
Sunchon Thermal Power Plant | Sunchon | 210 MW [28] | |
Sonbong Thermal Electric Power Plant | Sonbong-guyok | 200 MW | Originally named Unggi Thermoelectric Power Plant, and powered by heavy fuel oil from Sŭngri Petrochemical Complex. Rebuilt to use coal from 2015. [35] Also known as 6.16 Power Station. [28] |
Nyongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Center – experimental light-water reactor | Nyongbyon County | 20 MW [36] | Possibly began operations around October 2023. [37] |
Korean Energy Development Organisation – two light water reactors. | Sinpo | 2000 MW | Abandoned due to US withdrawal from Agreed Framework. [36] |
March 17 Power Plant | Chongjin (Unit 1) | 200 MW [28] | |
Puryong County (Unit 2, 3) | 310 MW [28] | ||
Chongjin Thermal Power Plant | Chongjin | 150 MW | Supplies to industry, such as the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex. [28] |
Hochongang Power Station | Hochon County | 40.6 MW | series of hydroelectric stations on the Hochon river. [28] |
Changjingang Power Station | Yonggwang County | 34.7 MW | series of hydroelectric stations on the Changjin river. [28] |
Puryong Power Station | Puryong County | 32 MW | series of hydroelectric stations in Puryong county. [28] |
Pujonggang Power Station | Sinhung County | 203.7 MW [28] | |
Anbyon Youth Power Station | Anbyon County | 324 MW | Original design capacity 810 MW. [28] |
Taedonggang Power Station | Tokchon | 200 MW | |
Namgang Power Station | Kangdong County | 135 MW | Fed by a gravity dam, also serves to prevent flooding of the Taedong River and supply water for agricultural purposes. [28] |
Chonchongang Thermal Power Station | Kaechon | 200 MW | Supplies to industrial complexes, such as the Namhung Youth Chemical Complex in Anju. [28] |
East Pyongyang Thermal Power Station | Rangnang-guyok | 100 MW [28] | |
December 12 Thermal Power Station | Chollima-guyok | 50 MW | Originally planned three generators of 50 MW each, only one built. Supplies electricity to Chollima Steel Complex. [28] |
Ryesonggang Youth Hydropower Plant No. 1 to 5 | Kumchon County | 50 MW | Series of five power plants on the Ryeson River, with five power stations of four generators each, producing 2.5 MW. [38] [39] [40] [41] No.1 was started up in 2008, with the last being completed in 2018. [42] |
Wonsan Army-People Power Station [43] | Popdong County | 20 MW | Two 10 MW turbines on the Rimjin River. [44] |
Hamhung Hydropower Station No.1 | Chongpyong County | 10 MW | Two 4 MW and a 2 MW generator on Kumjin River. [45] |
Orangchon Power Stations | North Hamgyong Province | 134.5 MW | Hydroelectric power project including 4 dams and 5 power stations. |
Sinuiju Solar Power Station | Sinuiju | 1 MW | 73 48-panel array, one 30-panel array and one 60-panel array. [46] |
Kumsanpho Fishery Solar Power Station | Cholsan County | small | 2880 panels in total, can generate "hundreds of kw" [46] |
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower. Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4,500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and also more than nuclear power. Hydropower can provide large amounts of low-carbon electricity on demand, making it a key element for creating secure and clean electricity supply systems. A hydroelectric power station that has a dam and reservoir is a flexible source, since the amount of electricity produced can be increased or decreased in seconds or minutes in response to varying electricity demand. Once a hydroelectric complex is constructed, it produces no direct waste, and almost always emits considerably less greenhouse gas than fossil fuel-powered energy plants. However, when constructed in lowland rainforest areas, where part of the forest is inundated, substantial amounts of greenhouse gases may be emitted.
The electricity sector in Norway relies predominantly on hydroelectricity. A significant share of the total electrical production is consumed by national industry.
Iran has the Third largest oil reserves and the 2nd largest natural gas reserves in the world. The nation is a member of OPEC, and generates approximately 50% of state revenue through oil exports.
China is both the world's largest energy consumer and the largest industrial country, and ensuring adequate energy supply to sustain economic growth has been a core concern of the Chinese Government since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Since the country's industrialization in the 1960s, China is currently the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, and coal in China is a major cause of global warming. However, from 2010 to 2015 China reduced energy consumption per unit of GDP by 18%, and CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 20%. On a per-capita basis, China was only the world's 51st largest emitter of greenhouse gases in 2016. China is also the world's largest renewable energy producer, and the largest producer of hydroelectricity, solar power and wind power in the world. The energy policy of China is connected to its industrial policy, where the goals of China's industrial production dictate its energy demand managements.
China is the world's leader in electricity production from renewable energy sources, with over triple the generation of the second-ranking country, the United States. China's renewable energy sector is growing faster than its fossil fuels and nuclear power capacity, and is expected to contribute 43 per cent of global renewable capacity growth. China's total renewable energy capacity exceeded 1,000 GW in 2021, accounting for 43.5 per cent of the country's total power generation capacity, 10.2 percentage points higher than in 2015. The country aims to have 80 per cent of its total energy mix come from non-fossil fuel sources by 2060, and achieve a combined 1,200 GW of solar and wind capacity by 2030. In 2023, it was reported that China was on track to reach 1,371 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2025, five years ahead of target due to new renewables installations breaking records.
Venezuela was one of the world's largest producers of oil, and the country with the largest proven oil reserves in the world. Venezuela is a member of OPEC.
Energy in Mexico describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Mexico.
The Baihetan Dam is a large hydroelectric dam on the Jinsha River, an upper stretch of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, in southwest China. The dam is a 289-meter-tall double-curvature arch dam with a crest elevation of 827 m, and a width of 72 m at the base and 13 m at the crest. It is considered to be the last large hydropower project in China after a series of projects starting with the Three Gorges Dam. It is also the second largest hydropower plant in the world. The hydropower station is equipped with 16 hydro-generating units each having a capacity of 1 million kilowatts, the world's largest turbines. All hydro-generating units of the Baihetan hydropower station became fully operational on 20 December 2022.
South Korea is a major energy importer, importing nearly all of its oil needs and ranking as the second-largest importer of liquefied natural gas in the world. Electricity generation in the country mainly comes from conventional thermal power, which accounts for more than two thirds of production, and from nuclear power.
Russia is the fourth largest generator and consumer of electricity in the world. Its 440 power stations have a combined installed generation capacity of 220 GW.
Energy in Singapore describes energy related issues in Singapore, which is a developed country located in Southeast Asia. Energy exports to others are about three times the primary energy supplied in the country itself. Additionally, oil imports in relation to the population demands of the country itself are concerningly high.
Energy in Sweden describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Sweden. Electricity sector in Sweden is the main article of electricity in Sweden. The Swedish climate bill of February 2017 aims to make Sweden carbon neutral by 2045. The Swedish target is to decline emission of climate gases 63% from 1990 to 2030 and international transportation excluding foreign flights 70%. By 2014 just over half of the country's total final energy consumption in electricity, heating and cooling and transport combined was provided by renewables, the highest share amongst the then 28 EU member countries. About a third of Sweden's electricity is generated by nuclear power. In generating a year's worth of this energy, Swedes generate about 4 tonnes of CO2 emissions each. Since 2010, sustainability measures have reduced total emissions even as the population has increased.
Energy in Belarus describes energy and electricity production, consumption and import in Belarus. Belarus is a net energy importer. According to IEA, the energy import vastly exceeded the energy production in 2015, describing Belarus as one of the world's least energy sufficient countries in the world. Belarus is very dependent on Russia.
The Jixi Pumped Storage Power Station is a pumped-storage hydroelectric power station currently under construction in Jixi County, Anhui Province, China. Studies were carried out in 2008 and construction began in December 2010. It is expected to last 6 years. As of April 2017 the dam is completed. First turbine was commissioned in December 2019, followed by second in May 2020 and third and fourth in August 2020. The last two units were commissioned in February 2021.
Hydroelectricity is currently China's largest renewable energy source and the second overall after coal. According to the International Hydropower Association, China is the worlds largest producer of hydroelectricity as of 2021. China's installed hydroelectric capacity in 2021 was 390.9 GW, including 36.4 GW of pumped storage hydroelectricity capacity, up from 233 GW in 2011. That year, hydropower generated 1,300 TWh of power, an increase of 68 TWh over 2018 when hydropower generated 1,232 TWh of power, accounting for roughly 18% of China's total electricity generation.
outside walls of houses are nearly all plastered with solar panels