The expression, New Energy, was first defined as a policy term in the Act on Special Measures for the Promotion of New Energy Use (“New Energy Act”) that came into effect in 1997. The law defines New Energy as those energies that “are approaching the stage of practical applications but not yet widespread due to constraints from the standpoint of economic efficiency, and are particularly necessary for furthering the introduction of Petroleum Alternative Energy.”
Specific types of energies included in the New Energy are described in the Enforcement Order for the New Energy Act as the “New Energy Use.” The Enforcement Order has been amended twice, and the following table shows the ten types of energies that are recognized as New Energy Use at present.
| New Energy Use as defined in the Enforcement Order for the Act on Special Measures for the Promotion of New Energy Use. |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Energy Use | 2008 | 2002 | 1997 | Remarks |
| Photovoltaic | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Solar thermal | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Wind power | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | |
| Thermal energy conversion | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | Non-utilized energy (temperature difference, waste heat) |
| Snow/ice cryogenic energy | ✕ | ✕ | ||
| Biomass power | ✕ | ✕ | ||
| Biomass heat | ✕ | ✕ | ||
| Biomass fuel | ✕ | ✕ | ||
| Micro hydroelectric | ✕ | 1,000 ㎾ or less | ||
| Geothermal power | ✕ | Binary approach | ||
| Fuel cell | ✕ | ✕ | ||
| CNG cogeneration | ✕ | ✕ | ||
| Waste-to-power | ✕ | ✕ | ||
| Waste-to-heat | ✕ | ✕ | ||
| Waste-to-fuel | ✕ | ✕ | ||
| Clean energy vehicle | ✕ | ✕ | Electric/CNG/methanol vehicles | |
| ✕ | Fuel cell / hybrid vehicles | |||
The current list of New Energy is based on the Interim Report by the New Energy Subcommittee for the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy, published by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in November 2006. The report concludes with a recommendation to focus the future allocation of policy resources on “the advancement of the introduction of renewable energy” and “the promotion of development and utilization of innovative energy technologies.”