Development of Solar Power Technology for Salt Farms... "Future Site Securing Effect Equivalent to 4 Nuclear Power Plants"

Simultaneous Power and Salt Production on Solar Modules... "A Regional Win-Win and Resident Participation Green New Deal Case"
"High Export Potential to Solar Salt Producing Countries like China, India, France, and Italy"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has developed a technology to install underwater solar modules in salt fields. KEPCO expects this to become a model 'resident-participation' Green New Deal case that increases solar power generation without additional land and simultaneously produces salt.

KEPCO announced on the 3rd that it has developed a 100kW-class salt field solar power generation system in collaboration with the Green Energy Research Institute and SM Software.

This solar power generation system installs underwater solar modules on the bottom of salt field evaporation ponds with a water depth of about 5cm, producing electricity and salt simultaneously.

KEPCO reported that despite the brine (saltwater) constantly contacting the upper part of the system, no operational defects such as electrical safety issues or solar module performance degradation were found.

On the contrary, KEPCO explained that cooling by saltwater in summer improved power generation by 5% compared to conventional ground solar power. The radiant heat generated by the solar modules reduced the evaporation time of the saltwater, increasing salt production as well.

KEPCO believes that in the best case, this technology could secure an additional 4GW of solar power generation sites, equivalent to four nuclear power plants.

A KEPCO official said, "If the salt field solar power generation technology is applied to the 40㎢ of domestic salt field evaporation ponds, up to 4GW of power generation sites can be secured," adding, "This technology is a 'two birds with one stone' solution that maintains salt field functions while producing solar power without securing additional land."

He continued, "Once salt field solar power is widely adopted, it will not only expand domestic solar power generation but also support the struggling salt field industry, contributing to increased income for residents," adding, "It will be a regional win-win Green New Deal project between Jeollanam-do and KEPCO."

KEPCO also mentioned the possibility of exporting the technology through technology transfer to countries such as China, India, France, and Italy, generating overseas revenue. Since these countries also produce salt using the solar salt method like Korea, the technology is expected to be highly compatible.

Salt farm solar module arrangement. (Source: Korea Electric Power Corporation)

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