The government is considering changing the system so residents in areas participating in the "Sunlight Income Village" would not have to pay the expense of installing energy storage systems (ESS), according to reports on the 19th. Currently, residents must bear 10% of the ESS installation expense.
The Sunlight Income Village project has village residents form a cooperative to install and operate a solar power plant on vacant land in the village and share the revenue. The government lends 85% of the solar installation cost as policy funds, and residents pay the remaining 15%.
Some villages must additionally install ESS. If a solar power plant is already in place and the power grid is saturated, there is nowhere to send the electricity produced. For this expense, the government and local governments cover 90%, and residents must pay 10%.
According to ChosunBiz reporting, the government is reviewing a plan to let villages within the Sunlight Income Village program that need to install ESS choose between having local residents bear 10% of ESS installation costs or having the ESS operator (virtual power plant business operator, VPP) pay it instead. If the latter is chosen, the local residents' burden becomes 0 won.
The government is seeking to reduce residents' out-of-pocket contributions to encourage participation by local governments. Initially, the government aimed to create 100 Sunlight Income Villages this year, but after President Lee Jae-myung directed in March, "If we set our minds to it, can't we do hundreds?" the target was sharply raised to 700. The government believes that of this year's target of 700, more than 250 fall into grid-saturated areas where ESS installation is required.
A government official explained, "VPP operators can take a portion of operating revenue in return for running ESS, and if they shoulder the residents' share instead, that portion increases."
Meanwhile, some argue that if residents do not directly bear the expense, it may be difficult to operate the project responsibly. Lee Sang-jun, a professor in the Department of Energy Policy at SeoulTech, said, "For the project to succeed, 'genuine participation' must be achieved in which residents who receive revenue also share the risks," adding, "Otherwise, the government's need to oversee the project will grow, inevitably increasing risks."
In response, a government official said, "Accountability can also be secured through the structure of participation and the design of operating responsibilities," adding, "Easing the self-burden is intended to lower the entry barrier in the early stage of a public-interest project."