Korea Water Resources Corp. plans 500 MW of floating solar by 2030

The environment ministry said Wednesday that the Korea Water Resources Corp. will develop about 500 megawatts of floating solar capacity at roughly 10 sites by 2030, starting with a 95 megawatt addition at Soyang River Dam in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.

Minister Kim Sung-hwan is scheduled to attend the state water agency's floating solar vision ceremony at the dam's water culture center Wednesday morning, alongside Gangwon Province Governor Woo Sang-ho and Chuncheon Mayor Yook Dong-han. The ministry oversees the water agency.

About 400 megawatts of the new capacity — at Soyang River, Chungju, Andong, Daecheong and Juam dams — will use a method the agency calls cross transmission, in which floating solar supplies power to the grid during sunny daytime hours while hydropower supplies it at night, so no new transmission lines need to be built. The agency expects the method to cut the cost, time and social friction of expanding grid infrastructure.

The Korea Water Resources Corp. has operated floating solar since 2012, when it installed a 500 kilowatt facility at Hapcheon Dam that it describes as the world's first commercial deployment. It now runs 105.6 megawatts across seven sites — including two at Hapcheon, one at Boryeong, two at Chungju, one at Soyang River and one at Imha.

The agency also plans to share renewable energy revenue with residents who take part in the solar projects.

"We will actively pursue measures to distribute renewable energy cheaply and quickly through cross transmission that makes the most of the existing power systems of multipurpose dams, and to share the profits with residents," Minister Kim said.