New Commercial Solar Power Installation Capacity Recovers to 3GW Range Last Year... Cumulative 27.1GW

Increasing Trend in New Installations Since 2022

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 31st that the newly installed capacity of commercial solar power last year reached approximately 3.16GW, recovering to the 3GW level again since 2021.

The cumulative installed capacity of commercial solar power reached about 27.1GW, and while new installations had been declining since 2020, they shifted to an increasing trend from 2022 onward.

This trend is interpreted as resulting from multiple factors such as inducing site development with favorable installation conditions and improving investment environments. In particular, the increase in solar installations on 'factory sites (land category)' is analyzed as the main cause of the expansion in installations.

Solar power installed on 'factory sites (land category)' last year amounted to approximately 809MW, marking a 64% increase compared to the previous year and setting a record high. This is seen as a result based on the effect of the 'Industrial Complex Solar Power Activation Plan' announced in July last year, along with relatively favorable grid and local community acceptance.

Additionally, the decline in solar module prices and the rise in Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) prices improved investment conditions for solar power, supporting the increase in installations.

By region, Jeonnam (542MW), Gyeongbuk (538MW), Chungnam (521MW), and Gyeonggi (370MW) were identified as major installation areas. Among these, Gyeongbuk and Gyeonggi showed remarkable installation growth trends, increasing by 49% and 108% respectively compared to the previous year, influenced by the expansion of solar installations on 'factory sites.' By land category, installations were highest on factory sites (809MW), followed by rice paddies (596MW), and dry fields (419MW).

Jung Kyung-rok, Director of Renewable Energy Policy at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, stated, "This year, we will continue to promote the discovery of excellent solar power sites such as industrial complexes and parking lots, and prepare the installation base for the full introduction of agrivoltaics by establishing standard models." He added, "We will make policy efforts to drive the growth of the solar power industry ecosystem to secure the domestic supply chain.”

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