Environmental Audit on the Policy of Renewable Energy from Waste April 2014 Burmshik Kim The Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea

Contents Current status of renewable energy source in Korea The policy of waste to energy Audit results (Findings and recommendations)

Current Status of Renewable Energy Source in Korea 1. Energy Consumption in Korea 11th biggest energy consumer in the world (385.1 billion kWh in 2008) 96.6 % of energy source is imported NRE generation has increased from 0.18 %(2003) to 1.7 %(2009) -NRE: New & Renewable Energy (GWh) Source: POSCO Power (http://www.usea.org/sites/default/files/event-file/517/USEA_POSCO_0621.pdf) visited on March 15. 2014

Current Status of Renewable Energy Source in Korea 2. Energy Price and Renewable Energy The increase of oil price Source ://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Price_of_oil_(2003-2008).png, visited on March 15. 2014 The data from http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/wtotusaw.htm (United States Department of Energy)

Current Status of Renewable Energy Source in Korea 3. Climate change and renewable energy EU generates 6.5 % of total energy by NRE (total : 1,782 MTOE) From Waste : 10.6 % From Biomass : 57.3% EU has a plan to increase the portion of NRE to 20 % by 2020 Source: Woods Hole Research Center (http://www.whrc.org/resources/primer_fundamentals.html) Visit on March 15. 2014

The Policy of Waste to Energy 1. Waste management in Korea Methodology 2003 (ton/day) 2007 2009 Total Landfill Incineration Recycle Ocean Dump Source : Ministry of Environment 2010 Available energy source from the wastes 12,885 ton/day : combustible  RDF (Refused derived fuel) 20,491 ton/day : anaerobic digestion  Bio-gas

The Policy of Waste to Energy 2. The concept of waste to energy Combustible solid waste (paper, vinyl, plastic) Organic waste (food, livestock, sludge) Incinerator Landfill gas Incineration / Landfill Composting / Ocean dump Heat(recovered partially) Methane gas(partially used) RDF (as a energy source) Bio-gas (Anaerobic digestion) Heat and electricity Electricity

The Policy of Waste to Energy 3. The plan for waste to energy Korea (Ministry of Environment) disclosed “Measures for Waste Resource and Biomass Energy” (May 2008) Source: the Ministry of Environment, Korea (http://eng.me.go.kr/eng/web/index.do?menuId=144&findDepth=1) visited on March 15. 2014

The Policy of Waste to Energy 3. The plan for waste to energy Detailed plan of the “Measures” (Unit : Site, 100 million KRW) Source: Ministry of Environment (May 2008)

Audit Results Background Objectives 1. Audit overview Background The policy was conducted without considering sufficient economic feasibility and technical stability of the plant construction.  It is concerned that the effectiveness of the policy would be decreased. Objectives The planning and performance of the policy was audited Audit period : 17 days (2011. 10. 12. ~ 11. 4.)  The aim of the audit was to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the policy, and to serve the successful commitment of the plan.

Audit Results The audit was focused on…. Methodology 2. Audit focus and methodology The audit was focused on…. Reviewing the whole process including planning, execution, operation and management of the waste to energy plant to serve the appropriate commitment of the policy Inspecting lawful procurement process, feasible design and construction, and proper operation and management of the waste to energy plants Methodology Documents review, interviewing, field inspection, and data analysis participation of environmental experts during the audit

Finding 1. Proper technology must be decided based on economic feasibility considering energy usage. MOE promote RDF plant construction for treating solid waste. In some case, incinerator had more feasibility. The comparison of RDF and Incinerator of Wonju and Inchon shows that Wonju has more feasibility for RDF but Inchon has more feasibility for incinerator due to the energy usage. (Unit : 100 million KRW) Source: www.mapofworld.com Visited on March 15. 2014 Source : Ministry of Environment, 2011

Finding 2. Proper operation cost must be considered when making up a budget. When bidding, technology suppliers provided improper information including underestimated operation cost to get high evaluation score for the procurement. Local government should spend budget to cover the shortage of operation cost. The cause of insufficient information on operation cost: short commercialized experiences and lack of similar cases. The result of the investigation on 14 drying and carbonization plants for treating sludge showed that the operation cost was at 97 % of higher compared to the initial proposal by the suppliers (ranged from 23 to 231 %)

Finding 3. Proper management regulations must be set up “Clean Air Conservation Act” of Korea did not have the emission limit of air pollutant for the RDF plants. Finding 4. Improper executions were found Improper executions by the public officers due to the insufficient knowledge on the technology and plant construction were still big problems for successful plant installation and operation.

Recommendations MOE should reconsider the plant construction plan based on the economic feasibility and technological stability. MOE should make a proper regulation to prohibit the suppliers from submitting underestimated operation cost proposal when they participate in a tender, and should subsidize the local government to cope with excessive operation cost. MOE should make a rule for pollution prevention from the waste to energy plants. Improper execution on the procurement, construction and supervision must be rectified.

Thank you.. If you have any other comments, recommendations, or questions after the meeting, please feel free to contact at bskim0814@korea.kr