Meeting Climate Goals: South Korea’s New Floating Solar Farm

A new solar energy project has been released in South Korea, in an effort to reduce the country’s dependence on coal, generate energy equivalent to that of 9 nuclear reactors, and provide jobs and income for local communities.  

The floating solar farm consists of 92,000 solar panels joined into 17 blocks in the shape of plum blossoms along a 20 km long reservoir in the southern city of Hapcheon, making it one of the largest floating solar energy generation projects in the world. The floating solar panels are capable of generating enough energy to power about 20,000 homes. 

“South Korea needs a massive amount of renewable energy to meet its climate target, and floating solar can be a part of the solution,” says Kim Jiseok, a climate and energy specialist at Greenpeace Korea. 

With a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by the year 2050, and with a need for renewable energy over coal in order to achieve that climate target, South Korea is now more on track than ever in its race against climate change, and more in style too – plum blossom style!