South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced in a press release that it will build a 2.1GW floating solar power station in the waters near Saemangeum, a tidal flat at the mouth of the Yellow Sea coast.
The ministry said construction of the project will start in the second half of next year after obtaining all relevant licenses and permits, including environmental impact assessments.
The Korean government emphasized that the project will be 14 times larger than the world s largest floating power plant, which is currently under construction in Panji District, Huainan City, China. In addition, "this project is also 1.6 times higher than the combined capacity of all floating solar facilities built worldwide last year."
The government estimates that 4.6 trillion won ($3.9 billion) of private equity will be invested in the project. The construction of the power station is expected to require about 5 million PV modules, beyond which the government has provided no further technical or financial information.
Saemangeum was built by the South Korean government in 2010 and is the longest man-made dam in the world.
The large floating power plant project is part of the South Korean government's efforts to increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. MOTIE is currently working on an energy base plan to increase the share of renewables to 35% by 2040. MOTIE said in April that 155 to 235GW of solar and wind power could be deployed on rooftops and unused or low-quality farmland.
In early March, MOTIE announced three different plans aimed at prioritizing efficient renewable energy projects that use a low carbon footprint and follow stricter Korean industrial standards. In addition, South Korean President Moon Jae-in in November also announced a 3GW ground-mounted solar project to be deployed in the Saemangeum area.
Under the current energy strategy, South Korea hopes to use renewable energy to provide 20 percent of its electricity by 2030. South Korea is currently working to install 30.8GW of solar PV by that deadline, 9% of which is being developed in Saemangeum. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), at the end of 2018, photovoltaic installations in South Korea reached 7.86GW. Last year, South Korea deployed just over 2GW of solar facilities.
