국토지리학회지 ISSN:1225-3766(Print) THE GEOGRAPHICAL JOURNAL OF KOREA

Korea's electricity production and consumption are experiencing a considerable level of spatial mismatch. Large power plants were concentrated in a few regions to cope with the increasing demand for electricity, resulting in a spatial mismatch between the area of production and consumption. In order to examine the spatialities of the production and consumption of electricity, this study examines the distribution and change in the location of power plants at si/gun/gu scale. The results of the study show multifaceted changes, such as the mitigation of spatial mismatch and the formation of new ones. First, although the disparity in power generation facilities at the metropolitan scale has decreased over the past 10 years, a large portion of those facilities tends to locate in a small number of si/gun/gu. Thermal and nuclear power plants, which account for more than 70% of Korea's power generation facilities, are still concentrated in 25 cities and counties. Second, despite the spatial concentration of thermal and nuclear power generation, power generation facilities increased in many cities and counties, which rarely produced electricity before. This is largely due to the spread of solar power and other green energy. Third, the main causes of the increase in power generation facilities over the past decade can be classified into categories of thermal power, combined heat & power, nuclear power, solar power, and the combination of various energy sources. Fourth, the increase in solar power shows a considerable level of spatial inequality, which means that the solar power facilities are concentrated in a few regions.