The government will newly identify 10 gigawatt (GW)-scale mega solar complexes in the capital area and the Chungcheong and Gangwon regions, and will roll out a total of 56 GW of solar power by using idle spaces such as factory rooftops, agrivoltaics, and floating installations. Through this, it aims to achieve the goal of "100 GW of cumulative renewable energy installed capacity by 2030" ahead of schedule.
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment on the 19th announced the First Basic Plan for Renewable Energy at the 38th Energy Committee meeting. As the government's first dedicated basic plan for renewables, the core is to expand renewable energy installations, currently at 37.1 GW, to 100 GW by 2030 and raise the share of power generation to 30% or more by 2035. The targets by energy source are 87 GW for solar, 6 GW for onshore wind, 3 GW for offshore wind, and 4 GW for others.
First, the government decided to build mega flagship complexes in grid-capacity-surplus areas such as the capital region. Centered on the capital, Chungcheong, and Gangwon regions, it will identify 10 or more GW-scale projects to create solar complexes totaling 12 GW. The aim is to prioritize large-scale complexes near the capital, where electricity consumption is high, to reduce transmission and distribution burdens and improve grid stability.
In addition, 44.2 GW of solar power will be added across four policy siting categories: industrial complexes and factory rooftops; agrivoltaics and floating installations; roads, railways, and irrigation channels; and schools and parking lots. The government will push to mandate solar installation on new factories and other buildings above a certain size, and will speed deployment by legislating setback regulations, introducing planned siting, and clearing permitting bottlenecks.
It will also pursue expense reductions. The government set a goal to cut the contracted solar price from the current 150 won per kWh to 80 won or less by 2035, offshore wind from 330 won to 120 won or less, and onshore wind from 180 won to 120 won or less. To that end, it will overhaul the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) into a long-term fixed-price contract market and establish a public-private expense evaluation committee.
To foster industry, by 2030 the government will expand domestic solar module production capacity to at least 10 GW per year and raise the share of domestically made modules from 55% in 2021–2025 to 80% or more in 2031–2035. To broaden resident participation, it will expand nationwide the models for sunlight, wind, and grid income, and will introduce a Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO) system for self-generation certificates that allows power from self-owned solar to be sold to RE100 (100% renewable energy use) corporations.
However, some say the goals will be hard to achieve due to grid infrastructure shortages, resident acceptance issues, and a lack of detailed fiscal and year-by-year implementation plans. In response, a government official said, "We are expediting projects as much as possible in consultation with local governments and public corporations, and measures for the grid will be detailed in a separate power grid innovation plan."