'15,000 KRW Monthly Sunlight Opportunity Income for 20 Years'... Gyeonggi-do Supports Solar Power Generator Installation Costs

Gyeonggi Provincial Government Gwanggyo New Office Building

Gyeonggi Province is launching a project to help residents earn money from sunlight by supporting up to 80% of the installation costs for solar power generators. Residents will receive a 'sunlight opportunity income' of at least 150,000 KRW per month for 20 years from the village solar power plant.

The province announced on the 13th that it will recruit hopeful villages for the '2023 Energy Opportunity Income Village Creation Project,' which provides monthly income to residents through sales revenue from sunlight-generated electricity by supporting 80% of the installation costs for communal solar power plants in energy-vulnerable rural areas until the 19th of next month.

This project, implemented for the first time this year, allows applications from consortia jointly formed by city/county governments, village communities, construction companies, and city/county resident-participatory energy cooperatives. To encourage active participation and smooth operation of the power plants, consortia that include city/county resident-participatory energy cooperatives will receive additional points (4 points).

The province and city/county governments will significantly reduce the installation cost burden when village communities consisting of 10 or more households within the same city/county want to install commercial solar power generators (total equipment capacity of 100kW or more but less than 1MW) on private or shared land, helping ensure that more income is stably distributed to residents. This year, a total budget of 2.6 billion KRW, including 1 billion KRW from the provincial government, will be invested, with the province covering 30% and the city/county governments sharing 50% of the costs.

The solar power installation capacity is 10 to 15 kW per household; assuming 10 kW, residents will bear 3.66 million KRW of the total 18.3 million KRW installation cost.

Applying last year's average prices for Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) sales revenue and electricity prices (SMP), after deducting rent and management costs, residents can receive an opportunity income (power generation revenue) of 150,000 to 160,000 KRW per month over 20 years (the typical lifespan of a solar power plant).

Applications can be submitted from the 15th to the 19th of next month via the Gyeonggi Province website.

Kim Yeon-ji, Director of the Energy Industry Division of the province, said, "Gyeonggi Province aims to actively support village communities that take the lead in the energy transition process responding to the climate crisis to earn opportunity income," adding, "We will discover various models where villages become power plants."

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