Korea’s Renewable Energy Stocks Gain on Public Plan

Unison rose 4.2 percent to 13,800 won at the close, after rising as much as 7.2 percent. It was the stock’s strongest gain since Dec. 15. Odicorp Co., which makes biofuels, surged 13 percent. Sodiff Advanced Materials Co., which makes solar-cell materials, rose 0.8 percent.

South Korea, which imports almost all of its oil, wants to cut its reliance on fossil fuels and diversify energy sources. The country plans to boost the use of renewable energy to 11 percent of total supplies by 2030 from the current 2 percent, the Ministry of Knowledge said today in an e-mailed statement. That should require government spending of 39.2 trillion won ($31 billion) by 2030, according to the ministry.

“The government’s move to foster the industry is a right step forward, and big industry players should greatly benefit,” said Park Se Girl, a fund manager at Meritz Asset Management Co. in Seoul, which oversees the equivalent of $1.7 billion in assets. “Given that the global industry is at a very early growth stage and Barack Obama’s expected support for the sector, the lead should continue for a considerable amount of time.”

U.S. President-elect Obama plans to invest $150 billion in alternative energy technologies that will create jobs and cut emissions of gases linked to global warming.

South Korea is targeting a 44-fold increase in the supply of solar power to 3,504 megawatts, a 37-fold gain in wind power to 7,301 megawatts and a 19-fold increase in biofuel supply. Separately, local companies plan to double their spending on alternative energy to 3.1 trillion won in 2009, according to the statement.