Decentralize semiconductor plants to solve power, water issues: professor

South Korea's booming semiconductor industry faces a critical bottleneck: power and water. Professor Ahn Sun-joo of Chonnam National University argues that concentrating chip factories in the Seoul metropolitan area is unsustainable. The Yongin semiconductor cluster alone will demand 16GW of electricity when fully operational, equivalent to 25% of the capital region's power.

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The concentration of semiconductor factories in the Seoul metropolitan area must be dispersed to regions to solve power and water problems.

This immense demand far outstrips local generation, necessitating the import of 11.5GW from external sources. Even then, importing power faces significant hurdles. Residents in areas like Chungbuk and Jeonnam oppose new transmission towers, while Gyeonggi residents resist the installation of a "high-voltage direct current converter station." Furthermore, the Yongin industrial complex lacks sufficient land for renewable energy generation. Expanding the power grid alone would cost 73 trillion won, with transmission line construction taking an average of 13 years.

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RE100 semiconductor era, electricity is location.

Professor Ahn proposes a solution: decentralize. He highlights Jeonnam's leading solar power generation and significant offshore wind potential. By establishing a "wide-area semiconductor industrial belt" centered around Gwangju, South Korea could simultaneously address its power needs and meet RE100 (renewable energy 100%) targets. This approach would also alleviate water stress, as southern regions have more abundant water resources than the Han River basin, which is nearing its limit.

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Jeonnam's solar power generation is the highest in the country, and its offshore wind potential reaches 12.4GW (37% of the national total).

Economist Song Jae-do supports this view, emphasizing that while companies choose locations, the national economic impact of semiconductor plant siting necessitates public review. He points out that new renewable energy capacity in the Jeolla region creates a substantial demand for new transmission lines. Investing in new transmission lines originating from the Honam and Jeju regions, as outlined in the 11th long-term power transmission plan, could significantly reduce costs if new semiconductor plants are located there. The government's plan to supply water to the Yongin cluster, costing 2.2 trillion won by 2034, further underscores the strain on existing resources.

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The location of semiconductor factories is a matter that causes various externalities and has a very large impact on the national economy as a whole, so public review of the location is inevitable.