The government will expand solar power facilities at 4,378 national and public elementary and middle schools by 2030. About 166 million won will be invested per school, and annual electricity bills are expected to be cut by around 10 million won.
Minister Choi Kyo-jin of the Ministry of Education on the 26th held a meeting at the Sejong Government Complex on the "Sunlight Link School" project and said, "By 2030, all national and public elementary and secondary schools, except for small schools where installation is difficult, will be equipped with solar power facilities." Including 3,566 elementary and secondary schools that already have solar, 77% of all schools will have solar facilities.
The project is being pursued to reduce the steadily rising electricity use and electricity bill burden at schools. Electricity use at elementary and secondary schools nationwide increased from 3.448 billion kWh in 2020 to 4.434 billion kWh in 2024. Over the same period, electricity bills rose from 358.5 billion won to 634 billion won.
This year, the government will invest 43.3 billion won in special grants to pilot-install solar facilities at 400 elementary and secondary schools. If installed at a capacity of 50 kW per school, it is expected to generate 68 MWh of electricity annually. The greenhouse gas reduction is 31.49 tons, equivalent to planting 4,771 pine trees. If all 400 schools are outfitted this year, they are expected to save about 4 billion won annually and achieve the effect of planting 1.91 million pine trees.
The Minister emphasized that the purpose of this project lies more in educational meaning than in simple revenue generation. The government plans to link the solar facilities with climate and ecological transition education. It will also set up experiential facilities such as simple solar modules and install large screens in shared school spaces to visualize carbon-reduction effects. Teacher training will be supported for classes that use the solar facilities.
The Minister said, "The payback period for installing this solar project is about 15 years," adding, "It may be hard to call it very efficient financially, but the educational effect should also be considered."