[경제]‘Hippopotamus eating electricity’ AI era… What happens to ‘aging power grid’?

[앵커]

Ahead of the era of AI, also known as the ‘electricity-eating hippopotamus,’ countries such as the United States and Japan are sparing no effort in making large-scale investments in transmission and distribution network facilities.

However, in Korea, transmission and distribution construction projects are sluggish.

There are concerns that it may have a negative impact on major industries.

Reporter Park Ki-wan reports.

[기자]

On the 3rd, the United States announced a transmission and distribution network replacement project plan worth $1.5 billion, or 2 trillion won in Korean money.

It is part of a power infrastructure construction project that will be carried out across the United States ahead of the AI ​​era.

This isn’t just an American thing.

The scale of global power grid investment is expected to more than double from KRW 320 trillion in 2020 to 2050.

This speed is due to artificial intelligence and AI.

Artificial intelligence data centers require six times as much power as regular data centers, and power demand is expected to increase significantly as AI spreads.

[마크 저커버그 / 메타 CEO (출처: 유튜브 Dwarkesh Patel) : (AI는) 전력 부족 문제에 부딪힐 것입니다. 결국 전력 때문에 AI 개발 속도가 느려질 수 있습니다.]

What is the situation in our country?

There are a total of 307 domestic transmission and substation facility construction projects planned by 2037.

It takes an average of 13 years for one construction project, and 85% of the sites have not even been built yet.

This is because it faced opposition due to failure to properly persuade local residents, and it is difficult for KEPCO, which is suffering from large debt, to cover project costs.

[주호영 / 국민의힘 의원 : 확충해야 하는 전력량만 1,700서킷킬로미터에 해당되는데, 이게 지난 10년간 증설해온 규모의 5배가 넘는 겁니다.]

[김동철 / 한국전력 사장 : 국가주도로 하겠다고 해서 송전망 특별법을 의원님들도 협조해주셔서 발의가 됐기 때문에 이번 정기국회에서….]

Meanwhile, the limitations of current transmission and distribution facilities have been revealed, with power plants unable to use their capabilities and losses during the transmission process continuing.

It is unclear whether we will be able to supply power on time to the Yongin semiconductor cluster, which will become the heart of our semiconductor industry in the future.

[이창양 / 전 산업통상자원부 장관 (지난 14일) : 정부나 산업계가 가지고 있는 경각심과 정치권에서 갖고 있는 경각심의 수준이 상당히 차이가 있다, 이런 생각을 합니다.]

It is a time when the government needs to take prompt measures commensurate with its status as an advanced IT country in the AI ​​era.

This is Park Ki-wan of YTN.

Video editing: Lee Eun-kyung
Design: Hyojin Kim

YTN Park Ki-wan (sojung@ytn.co.kr)

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