「분산에너지 활성화 특별법」에 대한 행정법적 검토

The Special Act on Activating Distributed Energy(hereinafter referred to as the ‘Distributed Energy Act’) was enacted on June 13, 2023 and came into effect on June 14, 2024. Distributed energy resources generally refer to small-scale resources that are located near consumers and supply energy such as heat and electricity. ‘Distributed’ energy resources are contrasted with the conventional ‘centralized’ energy supply system, but they do not necessarily replace or exclude each other. While the representative centralized energy supply system is a large-scale power plant using fossil fuels and a transmission line from the local area to the metropolitan area, distributed energy resources can be said to supply renewable energy such as solar and wind power near the demand site. Of course, since distributed energy resources emphasize the fact that suppliers and consumers are close to each other, combined heat and power generation using fossil fuels can also be included in distributed energy resources. The advantages of distributed energy resources include decarbonization of the power grid, improved resilience, revitalization of the regional economy, and strengthening of energy security. The main disadvantages are the decrease in stability or reliability of the power grid due to the intermittency of renewable energy. These pros and cons lead to the creation of diverse and new markets or business types. In this situation, activating distributed energy means solving various problems by considering complex and diverse interests under professional and predictive judgment. In particular, in an administrative state where power is concentrated in the executive branch, the question arises as to how to understand and reconstruct the principle of separation of powers in order to faithfully solve social and national tasks under the structural framework of the rule of law and the principle of democracy. This article examines the main contents of the Distributed Energy Act and examines them from an administrative law perspective, especially discussing the issues of administrative planning and non-delegaion doctrine. It identifies areas in the Distributed Energy Act that require improvement, and concludes that non-delegaion doctrine should be applied to administrative plans as well, and that the importance of basic rights and the function of policy formation should be given equal weight in the examination criteria for the principle of non-delegaion doctrine. However, this is only a preliminary review, so more in-depth research will be undertaken in the future.