Operation of the Largest Domestic 'Sinan Solar Power'... Participating Residents Earn 900,000 KRW Annually

150 Megawatt (MW) Scale Power Generation Complex... Producing Electricity for Approximately 49,000 Households Annually

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] 'Shinan Solar Power,' the largest solar power complex in Korea and a resident participation project, has begun commercial operation.

On the 26th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a completion ceremony for Shinan Solar Power, the largest domestic solar power complex with a capacity of 150 megawatts (MW), in Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do, attended by about 50 people including local government officials, members of the National Assembly, and representatives of local residents participating in the project.

The Shinan Solar Power complex, involving Korea South-East Power and domestic solar module company TopSun, was constructed in four villages located in Jido and Saokdo of Shinan-gun with a total project cost of 319.6 billion KRW. Utilizing abandoned salt farm sites, this power plant has an annual power generation capacity of 209.7 gigawatt-hours (GWh) based on excellent solar irradiation. This amount of electricity can supply approximately 49,000 households annually, based on a four-person household standard. Over the 20 years of operation, it is expected to reduce about 1.8 million tons of greenhouse gases and 410 tons of fine dust compared to coal power generation.

In particular, Shinan Solar Power has seen the largest scale of resident investment among resident participation projects to date. A cooperative was formed by 2,875 residents of Jido and Saokdo, near the power plant, who invested 12.8 billion KRW, accounting for 4% of the total project cost, through bonds. Of this, 90% was raised as 'resident participation funds' supported by the government through long-term, low-interest loans.

An official from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated, "Annually, 2.6 billion KRW from the power sales revenue of the power plant will be paid to the resident cooperative, which means about 900,000 KRW per resident per year," adding, "This will contribute to increasing income sources for rural fishing communities."

The plan is to enhance the acceptance of the solar power project among nearby residents by increasing the income of rural fishing communities.

Additionally, during the promotion of the Shinan Solar Power project, the Ministry integrated small-scale power projects within Jido and Saokdo to solve the problem of poor economic feasibility of grid connection. Grid connection refers to supplying electricity generated at the power plant to general households and industrial sites through transmission and distribution lines. By integrating power projects and securing economies of scale, the construction of a private substation (220 MW), a 14 km submarine cable, and other new transmission lines was promoted to resolve local power grid issues.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Moon Seung-wook said in his commemorative speech, "I hope the completion of Shinan Solar Power will serve as an opportunity to further spread the resident participation profit-sharing model," and added, "We will soon prepare an 'Improvement Plan for Resident Participation Projects,' referring to the Shinan case, which includes ways to enable more residents to participate in power projects and share profits more fairly."

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