Follow OCI Power's progress through the latest news, resources, and project stories.
“For solar power plants to participate in the electricity trading market, it is important to maintain the planned amount of generation. Power plants need to be operated in a predictable state through digital operation technologies, supported by advanced inverters.”
Sung-taek Lim of OCI Power made the remarks on February 13 during the 3rd Energy Plus Conference held at COEX in Samseong-dong, Seoul.
Renewable energy facilities such as solar and wind power are increasing rapidly around the world. By 2030, renewable energy sources are projected to account for 46% of global electricity generation.
Excessive increases in renewable energy sources can create problems for the power grid. Lim explained, “In Korea, output from nuclear power plants and renewable energy power plants is already being controlled, and major overseas countries such as the United States and Japan are experiencing similar issues.”
Managing distributed generation resources located across different areas is also becoming increasingly difficult. This is a particularly challenging issue in Korea, where the country’s limited land area makes the adoption of distributed energy unavoidable.
Lim explained that these issues can be addressed through inverters supporting grid-interconnection functions and digital operation technologies. He said, “In solar power plants, output control is handled entirely by the inverter. Inverters with enhanced grid-support functions must be installed so that minor grid problems do not lead to blackouts.”
Digital operation technology uses equipment operation data and sensor data to predict failures and operate power plants in a predictable state.
Lim said, “Approximately 70% of failures at solar power plants occur in inverters. Installing a good inverter is important, but digital operation technology capable of stably maintaining the desired level of generation is also essential.”
He also advised that artificial intelligence technology can support power plant operation. “If equipment operation data, internal temperature data, current data, and other information are collected and used to train an artificial intelligence model, it becomes possible to forecast generation, detect anomalies, and predict failures and equipment lifespan,” he explained.
Lim said, “Selecting only useful data is fundamentally necessary to integrate power plants with digital technology. Inverters capable of providing high-quality data must be introduced.”
He continued, “As renewable energy installations increase, stability in securing the desired amount of generation and ease of management are becoming increasingly important. The advancement of inverter technology and its integration with digital technology are factors that can help renewable energy develop into a new industrial sector.”
Meanwhile, the 3rd Energy Plus Conference, organized by the Korea Electrical Manufacturers Association and Industrial Daily, was held as a side event of ELECS KOREA 2025. ELECS KOREA, a specialized exhibition for the electrical industry, was held at COEX in Samseong-dong from February 12 to 14.
List