Solar Setback Distances to Be Scrapped... Hydrogen Regulations Also Unified

Eight Energy-Related Bills, Including the Renewable Energy Act, Pass the National Assembly
Principled Ban on Setting Setback Distances for Solar Power Facilities
Provisions on Hydrogen Energy and Fuel Cells Transferred to the Hydrogen Act

Solar panels installed at LS Electric's Cheonan DC Factory in Chungnam on the 20th. Photo by Kang Jinhyung

Regulations on setback distances for solar power facilities imposed by local governments will, in principle, be eliminated. Observers say that a major obstacle that had blocked the spread of solar power has now been removed. Dispersed regulations related to hydrogen have also been consolidated under the Hydrogen Act.

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced on the 13th that eight amendment bills, including the Act on the Promotion of the Development, Use and Diffusion of New and Renewable Energy (New and Renewable Energy Act) and the Act on the Promotion of Hydrogen Economy and Hydrogen Safety Management (Hydrogen Act), were passed at the National Assembly plenary session on the 12th.

The key element of the latest amendment to the New and Renewable Energy Act is a blanket prohibition, in principle, on setting setback distances for renewable energy facilities. Until now, local governments were allowed to set such distances at their own discretion, but the standards varied by municipality and were often excessive, and the regulation had been cited as a representative barrier to the spread of solar power.

Under the revised law, residential areas, roads, and cultural preservation and ecological landscape zones are exceptionally allowed to have setback distances. However, community-participation solar projects and rooftop or self-consumption solar power facilities are exempt from setback distance requirements.

The Ministry stated, "By establishing a setback distance regulatory framework at a reasonable level, we have been able to expand potential sites for renewable energy," adding, "By prohibiting setback distances for community-participation projects, we have laid the groundwork for expanding so-called 'sunlight income villages'."

The legal title of the New and Renewable Energy Act will also be changed to the Renewable Energy Act, and all provisions related to new energy will be removed. Matters related to hydrogen energy and fuel cells will be transferred to the Hydrogen Act.

The Hydrogen Act newly defines hydrogen energy and related facilities, thereby taking over matters such as hydrogen energy and fuel cells that had previously been governed under the New and Renewable Energy Act.

With this legal revision, Korea is now assessed to have established a renewable energy legal framework that meets international standards, in line with major jurisdictions such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the European Union (EU).

The Korea Hydrogen Alliance stated, "With the hydrogen economy legal framework, which had been split between the New and Renewable Energy Act and the Hydrogen Act, now unified under the Hydrogen Act, we expect this to serve as an opportunity for hydrogen economy policies to become more systematic and for policy implementation to become more effective going forward."

Meanwhile, the amendment to the River Act introduces special provisions for administrative substitute execution against illegal structures that are repeatedly and habitually occupying river zones, and allows the imposition of a non-compliance penalty if orders to restore the area to its original state are not followed.

Under the amendment to the Basic Act on Electric Power Industry Development, the Korea Electric Association, a nonprofit incorporated association, will be designated as a statutory organization and renamed the Korea Electric Industry Association, so that it can play a core role in the development of the electric power industry.

The law was revised in response to the rapid growth of the electric power industry driven by the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) and data centers, and to the growing need for a representative body capable of systematically leading and fostering the industry as a whole.

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