South Korea

According to new figures by the Korean Energy Agency, South Korea seems on track to have another successful year in terms of newly deployed PV. According to local experts, however, this will not be enough to achieve the Korean government’s goal of 20% renewable generation by 2030.

The Korean Energy Agency has included PV projects exceeding 20 MW in size for the first time in its solar energy procurement scheme. Selected projects will be awarded a fixed rate under a 20-year contract under the country’s renewable energy certificate (REC) scheme and will sell electricity to local power distributors.

The new plan comes on top of a scheme launched in late March to deploy solar using railway infrastructure. The Korean government expects private developers will build solar plants on the highways’ idle sites for a combined capacity of 243 MW by 2025.

OCI has revealed plans to invest $55 million to expand production at its Malaysian manufacturing facility from 30,000 to 35,000 metric tons.

Last year saw a record for solar, in terms of newly deployed capacity. This year, however, growth may be limited by new regulations for project siting.

The first 650 MW production line will be deployed by the end of June. The cells produced at the manufacturing facility will be used exclusively for Hyundai’s module production.

The Korean manufacturer was chosen as a preferred bidder for a portion of the Saemangeum solar complex. The company will likely supply its special panels for floating PV for the project.

The country’s Ministry of Environment has revealed that five dams have already been identified for a total of 147 MW of projects. The new target is part of South Korea’s plan to become carbon-neutral by 2050.

Fortescue Metals Group Chairman Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest returned to Western Australia last week after a four-month worldwide search for green energy projects and resources. One of the deals secured on the trip was a circular green hydrogen partnership with South Korean steelmaker Posco.

Power purchase agreements will be allowed between renewable energy producers owning plants with a capacity of more than 1 MW and electricity consumers. Local utility Kepco, however, will keep serving as an intermediary.