Idle Spaces at Gwangju Schools Transform into Renewable Energy Production Hubs

Schools in Gwangju are increasingly utilizing rooftops and other available spaces to install solar power facilities, transforming themselves into hubs for renewable energy production.

The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education Citizen Cooperation Promotion Institute signed a "School Solar Power Plant Construction Business Agreement" with the Climate Citizen Solar Power Cooperative on the 22nd at the principal's office of Donglim Elementary School. Provided by Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education.

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The Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education Citizen Cooperation Promotion Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Citizen Cooperation Agency) announced on the 23rd that, on the 22nd, it signed a "School Solar Power Plant Construction Business Agreement for Promoting Carbon Neutrality and Ecological Transition Education" with the Climate Citizen Solar Power Cooperative in the principal's office of Dongnim Elementary School.

The school solar power plant operates by having a local solar power cooperative install and manage a power plant in unused spaces such as the school's rooftop or parking lot. This allows the school to utilize idle areas and use the fees paid by the cooperative to fund student welfare programs.

This agreement is for the construction of the eighth school solar power plant. By September, a solar power facility with a capacity of 81.92kW will be installed on the 358㎡ rooftop areas of the main and annex buildings of Dongnim Elementary School.

Once the facility is in place, it is expected to have a carbon reduction effect equivalent to planting approximately 6,800 pine trees annually. This amount of electricity is enough to power 30 households of four people each for one year.

A real-time power generation display will also be installed, enabling students to monitor the status of electricity production and learn the importance of carbon neutrality.

Since first establishing a 598.84kW solar power plant at Gwangju Electronics Technical High School in 2022, the Citizen Cooperation Agency has built "citizen participation-type solar power plants" at six elementary, middle, and high schools-including Maji Elementary School, Wolbong Middle School, Ilgok Middle School, Ilsin Middle School, and Wolgye Elementary School-by last year.

Additionally, on the 15th, the agency signed an agreement with the Ilgok Solar Power Cooperative to install a 208.64kW solar power facility on the rooftops of the main and annex buildings of Gakhwa Middle School by the second half of this year.

In this way, as idle spaces at schools are transformed into areas where renewable energy production and education coexist, it is expected to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote the use of new and renewable energy.

Jingu Kim, Director of the Citizen Cooperation Agency, said, "We have repositioned school rooftops as vivid educational sites where natural energy becomes a resource, establishing a base for practicing carbon neutrality. We will actively support students so that they can recognize the value of eco-friendly energy and lead the spread of carbon-neutral practices in their daily lives."

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