K-water Targets 6.5GW Floating Solar by 2030... Launching Public-Private Council

Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water) announced on the 29th that it recently held a "Public-Private Cooperation Meeting for the Revitalization of the Floating Solar Industry" at the Daejeon Convention Center (DCC) in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, with more than 60 participants from the government, public institutions, and related industries in attendance.

This meeting was organized to discuss in advance the structure and operational direction of the public-private consultative body for floating solar power, which is scheduled to launch in the second half of the year. It follows up on last year's industry meeting, where private companies raised the need for an official communication channel to discuss policy and industry issues on a regular basis.

Participants are taking a commemorative photo at a meeting held at the Daejeon Convention Center (DCC) in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. (Photo by Bongkeun Oh, Head of Renewable Energy Division at Korea Water Resources Corporation)

The corporation plans to expand renewable energy facilities utilizing water infrastructure to a scale of 10GW by 2030, in line with the government's energy transition policy. Of this, 6.5GW will be developed as floating solar power, and minimizing administrative and technical issues during project implementation and strengthening the public-private cooperation system have been identified as key tasks.

At the meeting, representatives from relevant organizations such as the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and Korea Energy Agency attended, along with manufacturers of equipment such as modules, floaters, and transformers, as well as companies specializing in design, construction, and supervision. Korea Water Resources Corporation introduced the current status of floating solar projects and related R&D tasks, while Korea Energy Agency shared recent policy trends, including the restructuring of the renewable energy supply system.

The subsequent discussion focused on key topics such as the burden of project costs due to rising raw material prices, the impact of changes in the policy environment on private investment and R&D, and measures for supply chain stabilization. Participants presented tasks that the public-private consultative body, to be launched in the second half of the year, should prioritize, and exchanged diverse opinions on the structure and operation of the body. The corporation announced its plan to reflect the opinions collected at this meeting in the formation and operation of the consultative body, with the aim of establishing an effective cooperation system.

Bongkeun Oh, Head of the Renewable Energy Division at Korea Water Resources Corporation, stated, "To expand the adoption of floating solar power, a cooperative system in which public institutional support and private technological capabilities are organically combined is essential," adding, "We will continue to engage directly with the field to ensure that the public-private consultative body launching in the second half of the year operates as a practical platform for regulatory improvement and enhancement of industrial competitiveness."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.