The government has prepared an enforcement decree for a special law to drastically strengthen support for residents and local governments and shorten permitting procedures to build a power grid such as an "energy highway" in a timely manner.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on the 16th that the Cabinet approved a draft enforcement decree for the Special Act on Expanding National Key Power Grids. The enforcement decree was prepared to set out details delegated by the law ahead of the full enforcement of the special law on the 26th.
With the enforcement decree, the government expects to speed up power grid projects by expanding compensation for residents and land owners; supporting participation in renewable energy projects; expanding support for local governments; having the central government lead consultations on pending issues; and strengthening procedures for collecting opinions.
Specifically, going forward, if a land owner reaches an early agreement within three months, compensation can be increased by up to 75%. In addition, purchase compensation is now available for sites under transmission lines, for which only usage rights could previously be secured. Residents in areas with dense transmission and substation facilities can receive support payments of up to 4.5 times.
The government will support up to 1 billion won in grid connection expense for renewable energy generation projects of less than 10 MW in which residents and land owners participate, and will allow long-term, low-interest leases of right-of-way sites.
Local governments through which overhead lines pass will receive a one-time payment of 2 billion won per km to promote projects such as undergrounding. Industrial complexes in areas clustered with substations are obligated to have the Korea Electric Power Corporation install power supply facilities on a priority basis.
In addition, a power grid committee chaired by the prime minister will be established to operate a conflict mediation system involving the central government, local governments, and experts. Relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Environment, will participate together to coordinate siting conflicts from the initial stage and prevent long delays.
In addition, the working-level committee chaired by the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will guarantee the attendance of basic local governments, and the period for soliciting opinions on implementation plans will be extended from 30 to 60 days. However, by expanding the number of permits and approvals deemed granted from 18 to 35 and introducing rules for expediting ancillary works, the overall siting period will be shortened from two years to one year and six months.
An official at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said, "We plan to strengthen consultations with residents and local governments based on the Special Act on Expanding National Key Power Grids," adding, "Through this, by building power grids such as the energy highway in a timely manner, we will ensure there are no setbacks in expanding the supply of renewable energy and in supplying power to advanced industries such as artificial intelligence (AI)."