South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE) has announced for the development of a 2.1 GW of floating solar power projects.

After its completion, the project will be 14 times larger than the world’s current largest floating solar project, a 150 MW project under construction in China’s Panji District.

The massive project will be installed atop the Saemangeum Seawall Dyke, the longest man-made dyke, situated on the southwest coast of the Korean Peninsula.

According to the translated version of the press release, the total investment for the floating solar power project is 4.6 trillion in local currency (~$3.9 billion). The project will be built in two stages. In the first stage, a target of 1.2 GW is expected to be completed by 2022, and the remaining 900 MW is slated to be completed in 2025.

The projects are expected to make a significant contribution to the country’s renewable energy plan aiming to secure 30.8 GW of solar by 2030.

As per the statement, the project will be able to supply electricity to about 1 million households.

The South Korean government maintains that the floating solar project will not only provide opportunities and vitality to the domestic renewable industry but will also speed up the efforts to meet the government’s 2030 renewable energy target.

Asia’s fourth-largest economy aims for 35% renewable energy generation capacity by 2040. At present, renewable energy accounts for only 8% of South Korea’s energy generation.

Last year, Mercom reported that the Ministry of Environment in South Korea issued guidelines for solar installations.

South Korea had earlier announced that it would build a 4 GW solar and wind energy complex on the Saemangeum reclaimed land area in Gunsan. The hybrid complex will be located along the west coast of South Korea’s Jeollabuk-do Province.

In July 2018, the Korea Power Electric Corp. (KEPCO), a South Korean state-run utility, signed Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with India’s Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) for the expansion of renewable energy projects in both countries. The MoC was signed during a bilateral business forum held in New Delhi on the sidelines of the summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Image credit: SPG Solar [CC BY-SA 3.0]

Anjana is a news editor at Mercom India. Before joining Mercom, she held roles of senior editor, district correspondent, and sub-editor for The Times of India, Biospectrum and The Sunday Guardian. Before that, she worked at the Deccan Herald and the Asianlite as chief sub-editor and news editor. She has also contributed to The Quint, Hindustan Times, The New Indian Express, Reader’s Digest (UK edition), IndiaSe (Singapore-based magazine) and Asiaville. Anjana holds a Master’s degree in Geography from North Bengal University, and a diploma in mass communication and journalism from Guru Ghasidas University, Bhopal.