President Moon: "Floating Solar Power Has High Potential... Equivalent to Output of 9 Nuclear Reactors"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 24th, President Moon Jae-in visited the Hapcheon Dam in Gyeongnam, the largest floating solar power site in Korea, to encourage local residents and emphasized the high potential of floating solar power, saying, "Floating solar power utilizing the dam's water surface is environmentally friendly as it does not require separate civil engineering work or forest destruction."

At the on-site meeting held at the Hapcheon Water Culture Center that day, President Moon stated, "Our floating solar power has a high potential of 9.4 gigawatts, equivalent to the output of nine nuclear power plants."

President Moon praised that the electricity produced annually by the Hapcheon Dam floating solar power (41.5 megawatts) can supply power for 60,000 people?more than the population of Hapcheon County?for one year, covering 73% of the total electricity consumption of Hapcheon County, while also reducing greenhouse gases (26,000 tons) and fine dust (30 tons).

He emphasized that global interest in floating solar power is also increasing. President Moon said, "At COP26 held in the UK last month, several countries including Indonesia, China, and Vietnam showed great interest in our floating solar power," adding, "We have agreed to pursue joint cooperation projects with Indonesia. In the future, many countries will visit Hapcheon Dam floating solar power to see and learn directly."

He also mentioned that at Hapcheon Dam, where a total of 76.7 billion KRW has been invested, 1,400 nearby residents will receive 10% of the investment amount annually as investment returns for 20 years, expressing confidence that "this will become the nation's first floating solar power pension for participating residents."

President Moon said, "We will expand the case of Hapcheon Dam floating solar power in the future," and added, "We will safely maintain the dam's original functions, preserve the beautiful natural scenery, and boldly invest focusing on our strengths."

At the meeting, local residents, floating solar power experts, and construction officials discussed ways to utilize floating solar power for regional promotion and plans for floating solar power generation.

In his closing remarks, President Moon said, "It is very meaningful that this project was carried out as a resident-participatory project and that the project profits are distributed to the county residents," and added, "Both solar and hydro power are 100% domestically developed technologies, so it is even more meaningful that all renewable energy produced at Hapcheon Dam is made with our domestic technology and products."

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