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ENERGYUPDATED 24 OCT 2026

The country that goes dark at night

From space, North Korea is almost black next to its neighbours. Half the population has electricity, many homes get a couple of hours a day - and families have turned to solar panels to fill the gap.

From spacePowerOil and sanctionsPower stations
The Korean Peninsula at night from the International Space Station: South Korea is brightly lit, North Korea is almost completely dark apart from a small glow at Pyongyang.
The Korean Peninsula at night, seen from the International Space Station in 2014. South Korea and China blaze with light; North Korea is a dark gap with one small glow - Pyongyang. Photo: NASA · Public domain
Electricity

Power

Mostly rivers and coal - and not much of either.

53%
Have electricity at all
Share of people with access, 2021. World Bank via Wikipedia. Source
~2 hrs
Power a day
What many households get, because factories come first. Source
55%
Of homes use solar panels
2019 estimate - cheap Chinese panels on balconies and roofs. Source
819 kWh
Electricity per person a year
2008 - below the level of 1970, and down from a 1,247 kWh peak in 1990. Source
~25 TWh
Electricity generated a year
2021, Statistics Korea estimate. Source
64%
Growth in capacity over 40 years
South Korea's grew 1,275% over the same period. Source
Hydro 63%Coal and other thermal 37%
Electricity by source, 2021: hydro 16.1 TWh, thermal 9.4 TWh. Statistics Korea via 38 North. Hydro falls in dry years and freezing winters - so do the lights.
Fuel

Oil and sanctions

North Korea has no oil of its own. The UN limits how much it can buy - and the limit is being broken.

500,000
Barrels of refined fuel a year
The UN cap on petrol and diesel imports, set in 2017. Source
165,000+
Barrels from Russia in one month
March 2024 alone, says the White House - on course to smash the cap. Source
1
Oil pipeline
Crude comes from Dandong in China to a refinery at Sinuiju. Source
3%
Of its power sold to China
About 413 GWh in 2021 - even while its own homes go dark. Source
Where it comes from

Biggest power stations

Installed capacity. Actual output is usually far lower because of old equipment and fuel shortages.

StationTypeCapacityNotes
Pukchang Thermal Power ComplexCoal1,600 MWThe country's biggest power station, north of Pyongyang.
Taechon Hydroelectric Power StationHydro746 MWChain of dams in North Pyongan.
Sup'ung DamHydro630 MWBuilt by Japan in the 1940s on the Yalu - power is shared with China.
Unbong DamHydro430 MWAnother shared dam on the Yalu River.
Yongbyon light-water reactorNuclear20 MWExperimental reactor beside the weapons complex; probably still in testing.
Haeju Solar Power StationSolar10 MWOne of the biggest solar farms - tiny next to the coal and hydro plants.
KEDO reactors (abandoned)Nuclear2,000 MWTwo power reactors the US and allies began building in the 1990s, scrapped in 2006.
Source: Energy in North Korea.

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