South Korea’s 2.1GW floating PV venture not a military disturbance, says ministry

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The Saemangeum Seawall. Source: Wikimedia Commons

A huge floating solar project on South Korea’s southwest coast has reportedly been given the green-light from the country's Defence Ministry after local papers suggested that reflections from the panels might disrupt operations at a nearby US airbase.

The mammoth 2.1GW floating solar project, planned for the Saemangeum Seawall dyke, was approved by South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) in late July.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The plant will cover an area of 30 square kilometres on the largest manmade dyke in the world. It was specifically earmarked to be close to the airport, where business operations are low.

South Korea’s Ministry of Defence assuaged concerns about the plant’s future when it said on Thursday that US Forces Korea, which is stationed near the proposed site at the nearby Kunsan airbase, did not believe the array would disturb military aircraft, according to a report in Yonhap News Agency.

The floating solar project is the largest of its type ever conceived, 14 times larger than the 150MW floating project in China’s Panji District developed by local firm Three Gorges New Energy.

MOTIE estimates that the KRW4.6 trillion (US$4 billion) plant will be capable of generating 2,759GWh of energy annually.

It will be built in two stages, with the first 1.2GW forecast to come online in late 2022 and the remainder of capacity in 2025.

The project will help the South Korean government meet its targets of generating 20% of its total electricity from renewables and adding 30.8GW of new solar capacity by 2030.

The government estimates that the floating solar project will generate 1.6 million jobs during construction.

Read Next

October 3, 2025
Chinese government policies and supply-side production cuts will drive a significant increase in solar and storage component costs.
October 2, 2025
The Indian Department of Commerce has launched an antidumping investigation on solar encapsulants originating or exported from South Korea, Vietnam and Thailand.
October 1, 2025
Adding 32GW of new solar to Thailand’s power generation deployment targets could cut power generation costs by as much as US$1.8 billion.
Sponsored
September 26, 2025
Over the past three years, Tongwei has made a remarkable leap in the solar sector, shipping over 100GW of modules at record-breaking speed.
September 24, 2025
Representatives from the EU, IEA and IRENA have signed an open letter to deliver a 'just and equitable energy transition'.
September 23, 2025
JinkoSolar and LONGi Green Energy have agreed to terminate ongoing patent lawsuits, and enter into a 'cross-licensing agreement'/

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland