S. Korea to build world's largest floating solar power system in artificial lake

By Lim Chang-won Posted : September 4, 2018, 09:41 Updated : September 4, 2018, 09:41

[A blueprint provided by the energy ministry shows a solar power plant in an artificial lake along the west coast.]


SEOUL -- The world's biggest floating solar power system will be built on an artificial seaside lake created by a giant seawall that has been the source of prolonged social debate over pollution in South Kora's reclaimed wetland.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Tuesday that it would launch a state-funded project with the Ansan city government to construct a 102.5-megawatt solar power plant on the surface of Shihwa Lake, an artificial reservoir about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Seoul.

It would be the world's largest floating solar power system capable of providing electricity to some 35,000 households when completed in 2020, the ministry said, adding the project also involves an association of about 10,000 citizens, Ansan Urban Corp. and Korea Western Power, a subsidiary of the state utility, Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO).

It is the latest in a series of renewable energy projects being pushed by President Moo Jae-in who called for an injection of about 110 trillion won ($99 billion) into renewable energy by 2030 to phase out nuclear and coal-powered thermal power plants. About 60 percent of the money would be spent on installing solar panels mainly in reclaimed lands, reservoirs and idle state lands.

In February, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP), the state-run operator of nuclear power plants, agreed with a solar energy firm to build a floating solar power plant capable of producing 100 megawatts in Hwaseong Lake, another man-made lake created by a 9.8 kilometer-long seawall just south of Ansan.

In 1994, a seawall was constructed to create Shihwa Lake for agricultural and industrial purposes. However, the area has become a typical site showing the deterioration of water quality and the destruction of coastal wetland. Pollution from industrial complexes and populated cities caused social and environmental concerns.

Lake Shihwa was designated as a special management area and seawater was reintroduced in 2004 in the hope of flushing out contamination. The world's largest tidal power station, with a total power output capacity of 254 MW, was built in 2011, providing an indirect environmental benefit as well as renewable energy.
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