South Korea announces 1 GW solar tender

South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) has unveiled a tender covering approximately 1 GW of new solar capacity.

The tender, offering winning bidders a fixed-price contract, has been given a bid ceiling price of KRW 147,686 ($99.46)/kWh, around 5% lower than last year’s 1 GW solar tender.

The tender also features preferential prices for solar modules with a lower carbon footprint, which MCEE says is in consideration of their contribution to the domestic industry and supply chain.

The preferential price adds an additional KRW 16/kWh for use of grade 1-certified modules, with the lowest manufacturing carbon emissions, and KRW 7/kWh for grade 2-certified modules. 

These preferential prices represent an increase of KRW 4/kWh and a decrease of KRW 2/kWh compared to the previous year, which the ministry says takes into account the recent difference in market prices with modules outside the grade.

MCEE and Korea Energy Agency plan to hold an online video briefing session on the tender on July 21. 

The ministry’s latest updates also confirms this is the final year bidding before a reform of the Renewable Energy Supply Obligation (RPS) system, in which the country’s solar tenders fall under, to replace it with capacity-based government auctions.

According to figures released earlier this year, South Korea’s fixed-price tender system has selected over 10 GW of solar capacity since launching in 2017.

South Korea’s cumulative solar capacity reached 30,346 MW by the end of 2025, according to figures published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), a 3.6 GW increase on figures reported at the end of 2024.