Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok: "Haenam to Develop Energy Self-sufficient Smart City"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Young-rok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, stated on the 8th during a dialogue with residents of Haenam County, “We will develop Haenam, the No. 1 eco-friendly agricultural area, into an energy self-sufficient smart city.”

Governor Kim emphasized, “We will establish a cutting-edge renewable energy industrial base in Haenam Solar City Industrial Complex, including the largest solar power plant in Korea and an RE100 dedicated pilot industrial complex.”

The Solar City solar power plant, completed last year, is equipped with the largest solar power generation facility in Korea at 98MW and the world’s largest energy storage system (ESS) with a capacity of 306MWh.

It is built on a 1.58 million square meter site in the Guseong district of Haenam, an area equivalent to about 190 soccer fields. The electricity generated by this power plant is approximately 129GWh annually, enough to supply 27,000 households for one year.

Additionally, a European Village theme park is being established in Solar City following a recent investment agreement worth 570 billion KRW.

Furthermore, Jeonnam Province plans to attract the Agricultural and Food Climate Change Response Center and build it as a forward base for future agriculture in Jeonnam.

Governor Kim stressed, “The Agricultural and Food Climate Change Response Center will serve as a comprehensive control tower for agricultural policies, research, and technology development addressing climate change. We expect to maximize synergy with the Jeonnam Fruit Research Institute relocating to Haenam.”

Residents participating online in the dialogue with the governor raised various suggestions ranging from daily life-related civil complaints to regional issues and the expansion of poor social overhead capital (SOC).

The residents requested ▲ expansion and distribution of leased farms for young farmers’ management practice ▲ widening and paving of the local road between Haenam and Daeheungsa ▲ establishment of access roads to Yeongam and Haenam and selection of the new bridge name ▲ improvement of guidelines for eco-friendly forest product cultivation management ▲ support for marine waste roll-off boxes ▲ maintenance project for overlaying Local Road No. 806.

Haenam County also requested 500 million KRW in provincial funds for replacing and newly installing village security CCTV cameras.

Due to the characteristics of low population density in rural fishing villages, CCTV footage is necessary for accident cause investigation and crime resolution, but many CCTV cameras fail to function properly due to aging and low-resolution footage.

Regarding the leased farms for young farmers’ management practice, Governor Kim said, “This project leases smart greenhouses to young people without farming experience to provide a foundation for starting a business. It is being promoted as a project with 50% national funding support until next year, and we will actively consider installing three locations in Haenam.”

In response to the request for local road widening and paving projects, he said, “The province plans to expand the local road between Haenam-eup and Daeheungsa to four lanes for the convenience of residents and tourists. The first phase, a 1.44 km section from Haenam-eup to Hosanjeong, began construction in July, with basic surveys such as measurements underway.”

He also stated, “After 50 years, a new Haenam County office building has opened, marking the start of 100 years of hope with the residents. Once the Gyeongjeon Line railway project is completed, we will actively consider having the KTX pass through Haenam as well, and we will always work together for Haenam’s development.”

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