With the "renewable energy setback distance system" set to take effect in September, fortunes are diverging between the solar and wind power industries. A renewable energy setback distance is a system that requires renewable power facilities such as solar and wind to be built a certain distance away from homes, roads, and other sites.
The wind industry worries that this is effectively a tougher regulation that will dampen wind power adoption. The solar industry, by contrast, is relieved, saying the rules were eased from the initial review plan, expanding viable sites for projects.
According to the energy industry on the 12th, a revised enforcement decree setting the cap on setback distance regulations for renewable power facilities was approved at a Cabinet meeting the previous day. As a follow-up to the revised "Act on the Promotion of the Development, Use, and Supply of New and Renewable Energy" in March, the amendment will apply starting Sept. 18.
Under the enforcement decree, for solar power facilities, the setback distance can be set within a range up to 200 meters from residential areas, with no distance limit from roads.
For wind power facilities, the setback distance can be set up to 1,500 meters from residential areas and up to 500 meters from roads. A residential area includes at least five households.
These standards do not impose a uniform setback nationwide but set an upper limit on regulations that local governments can establish. In other words, if a local government had set a farther setback than the enforcement decree, it must narrow the setback to within the decree's standard.
Until now, setback distances for renewable power facilities were set by each local government ordinance, prompting criticism that standards were all over the place. Of the 228 basic local governments nationwide, 129 have related ordinances. The ranges vary widely by region, from 100 to 1,000 meters for solar and 100 to 2,000 meters for wind.
The wind industry pushes back, calling it effectively double regulation. Currently, wind power developers proceed with projects in accordance with the environmental impact assessment process and the community noise standards under the "Noise and Vibration Control Act." Based on this, they consult residents to calculate an appropriate setback, but they see this as adding another distance rule on top.
Project uncertainty could also increase due to renewed opposition from existing residents. The industry sees a strong possibility that residents at existing project sites where the setback was 1,500 meters or less under local government ordinances will enter renegotiations to match the new cap.
In fact, only about 9% (22) of the 243 local governments nationwide currently apply a 2,000-meter setback, while the remaining 91% have no standard or operate with less than 1,500 meters.
A wind industry official said, "On the ground, we typically consult residents at around 500 meters, considering noise impacts. Having a mechanical 1,500-meter standard overlaps with existing rules. It raises concerns about how we can proceed with onshore wind farms going forward."
The government says its original review plan set wind power facilities at up to 1,000 meters from roads but reduced that to 500 meters after reflecting wind industry input. The wind industry, however, says it compiled opinions by the 3rd that the enforcement decree needed revision and delivered them to the government, but they were not reflected in the amendment.
The solar industry views the enforcement decree positively. The government had initially reviewed capping solar facility setbacks at within 200 meters from residential areas and within 100 meters from roads. For solar facilities, the "road setback" item was deleted entirely after the government accepted the industry's view that there is no need to build away from roads.
Roadside areas have long been considered optimal sites because grid connection is easy and land-use efficiency is high. Going forward, solar can be installed freely regardless of road location. Project sites could also increase.
An official at the climate ministry said, "We need to expand renewable energy adoption as much as possible, but we cannot ignore the issue of resident acceptance. Solar has fewer accidents, but wind power has had accidents, so some level of safety regulation is necessary."