Sung Yun-mo "Strengthening Safety Inspections for Mountain Solar Power... Considering Environment and Safety in New Facilities"

Attendance at the 21st Energy Committee Meeting on the 19th
"Concerns Raised Over Solar Power Worsening Landslides"
Review of 4 Energy Industry Convergence Complexes
Promotion of the 6th Energy Utilization Rationalization Plan

Sung Yun-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy / Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Sung Yoon-mo, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, announced on the 19th that safety inspections on mountain solar power facilities will be strengthened, and the system will be improved considering environmental and safety aspects for new facilities.

Minister Sung attended the '21st Energy Committee' held at the Government Complex Sejong on the same day and began by saying, "There are concerns that the installation of mountain solar power facilities so far may have worsened the recent landslide situation."

He mentioned that the number of mountain solar power accidents this year accounts for 1% of the 1,548 landslides and 0.1% of the total 12,923 mountain solar power sites.

He added, "The landslides are more attributable to the unprecedentedly long rainy season and heavy rainfall rather than mountain solar power," emphasizing that "a cautious approach is necessary as unnecessary concerns about renewable energy could be amplified."

However, he stated, "To prevent similar cases from recurring, we plan to promptly prepare three countermeasures for mountain solar power in consultation with the Korea Forest Service, mountain and civil engineering experts, the solar power industry, and by collecting opinions from residents and local governments."

First, safety inspections and management will be strengthened for already installed mountain solar power facilities.

Minister Sung said, "We will form a mountain safety inspection team to conduct frequent on-site inspections during the summer disaster prevention period and carry out detailed inspections annually," adding, "We will actively utilize disaster prevention orders if urgent measures are needed."

Second, it is planned to check whether construction and completion stages comply with permit standards.

He stated, "Since project operators are required to establish and submit disaster prevention plans during local government permits and approvals, it is necessary to strengthen on-site inspections and completion inspections to ensure proper implementation."

Lastly, Minister Sung said, "We will also seek additional system improvement measures from environmental and safety perspectives for new mountain solar power facilities."

He acknowledged, "It is true that there is significant public concern about some mountain solar power accidents," and added, "We will review whether it is necessary to further supplement permit standards such as site selection for new mountain solar power to avoid disruptions to the Green New Deal and the Renewable Energy 3020 goals."

The two agenda items submitted to the Energy Committee that day were the designation of energy industry convergence complexes and the 6th Basic Plan for Rational Energy Use.

The energy industry convergence complex refers to a project that selects regional 'energy-focused businesses' in fields such as solar power, wind power, hydrogen, nuclear power plant dismantling industry, and energy efficiency improvement, and creates clusters. Four final convergence complex plans in Gyeongnam, Chungbuk, Busan·Ulsan, and Gyeongbuk were reviewed by the Energy Committee.

Minister Sung expressed his expectation, saying, "Based on regional infrastructure, attracting excellent companies and research institutes and creating quality jobs will revitalize the regional economy."

The 6th Basic Plan for Rational Energy Use is the national mid- to long-term execution strategy for the demand sector of the '3rd Basic Energy Plan' established by the government in June last year.

The three main directions are ▲ promoting investment expansion and local government-centered energy efficiency improvement ▲ strengthening demand management based on real-time monitoring and public participation ▲ improving systems to promote the spread of energy transition.

Minister Sung emphasized, "We plan to implement specific tasks corresponding to each direction," and added, "We will do our best to establish a high-efficiency, low-consumption economic foundation through this basic plan."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.