Suncheon City Council Holds Policy Meeting to Amend Wind Power-Related Ordinance

Pushing for Re-amendment One Year After Ordinance Revision...Criticism for Denying the Council
Chairman Heo Yuin Personally Oversees...Participates in Tour of Yeonggwang Wind Power Complex
Scheduled to Be Held at Suncheonman International Wetland Ce

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] The Suncheon City Council (Chairman Heo Yu-in) plans to hold a policy meeting on green new deal renewable energy as a procedure for amending wind power-related ordinances at around 2 p.m. on the 2nd of next month in the conference hall on the 2nd floor of the Suncheonman International Wetland Center.

There are suspicions and opposition questioning who the ordinance amendment is for and who the policy meeting is being held for.

In April last year, seven companies received power generation permits from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for the areas surrounding Suncheon City, including Seungju-eup, Woldeung-myeon, Hwangjeon-myeon, as well as Juam-myeon, Byeollyang-myeon, and Songgwang-myeon.

With a scale of 200 MW, it is the largest nationwide, surpassing Yeonggwang-gun's 170 MW.

As opposition from local citizens in the area intensified, in May last year, the Suncheon City Council, led by Assemblyman Yoo Young-gap, amended the ordinance to strengthen the requirements for wind power plants by mandating a 2 km distance from villages for wind power plant installations.

As the ordinance amendment made it difficult to build wind power plants, some companies voluntarily withdrew to plan for the future, some had their documents rejected by Suncheon City, but Company A, which was promoting wind power in the Balwangsan area (Wolgye-ri, Seungju-eup, Daegu-ri, Seomyeon), is currently in an administrative lawsuit with Suncheon City.

Even ignoring the speculation that this public hearing, which the Suncheon City Council is pushing forward, will be advantageous to Company A currently in an administrative lawsuit with Suncheon City, it is expected that if the distance is lowered to 1 km, companies with power generation permits from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will flock in.

Meanwhile, there is criticism from some quarters that the council is holding a public hearing that denies the council itself and is pushing for ordinance amendments.

Councilor B of Suncheon City Council pointed out, “The wind power ordinance amendment was passed with the approval of 22 out of 23 council members,” adding, “Changing the ordinance within a year is an act of the council denying itself.”

In other words, if there is a problem, the argument is that the ordinance amendment should be made by the 9th council, not the 8th, as a matter of respect for the council itself.

Citizen C said, “Suncheon, which has promoted its image as an ecological city nationwide through the Garden Expo and wetland conservation, will harshly judge the city council that is pushing for a re-amendment of the ordinance within a year under the pretext of green new deal policy and renewable energy.”

This meeting is being directly overseen by Chairman Heo Yu-in of the Suncheon City Council. Chairman Heo unusually participated directly in the Urban Construction Committee’s inspection of the Yeonggwang wind power complex and mentioned wind power development in the September council report.

Meanwhile, the city council announced that the policy meeting is being held to enhance understanding of the central government's green new deal policy and to gather opinions from citizens and related organizations when drafting renewable energy-related ordinances.

About 100 people, including citizens, city council members, and related officials, will attend the meeting, where they will listen to a keynote speech by Dr. Lee Yoo-jin, chairperson of the Seoul Climate Ecology Special Committee, followed by Q&A, discussion, and sharing of opinions.

Kim Mi-yeon, Chairperson of the Urban Construction Committee of the Suncheon City Council, stated, “Through this policy meeting, our committee will lead the related ordinance to a public forum based on a correct understanding of the government’s green new deal policy and collect diverse opinions,” adding, “We ask for active participation from organizations and citizens interested in green new deal renewable energy.”

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