Newly designed buildings to supply 8% of electricity in Seoul

Newly approved buildings across the capital of Korea are expected to generate 3,811 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy annually, driven by city mandates requiring solar facades and geothermal heating in building designs. According to data released Friday by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the projected clean energy output — stemming from architectural plans reviewed between 2022 and 2026 — will equal roughly 8 percent of the city’s total electricity consumption once construction is complete. The output from these upcoming structures is 1.5 times the annual capacity of the Seoul Thermal Power Plant, the city’s historic energy anchor, and represents 85 percent of all renewable energy capacity installed in the capital over the previous 17 years combined. The push comes as Korea works to expand its clean energy mix, where renewable sources currently account for around 9 to 11 percent of national power generation — leaving urban centers like Seoul, which relies heavily on power drawn from outside regions, under pressure to boost local self-sufficiency. The shift reflects a broade