South Korea’s largest floating PV plant has been commissioned. It is in the water reservoir at the Hapcheon dam, in South Korea’s South Gyeongsang province.
Construction for the floating solar array has been completed by Scotra which is a South Korean PV specialist. The capacity for the solar array is 41MW and it is constructed for Korea Water Resources Corp. It is a governmental agency that manages water resources.
The PV plant is built with the Q.Peak Duo Poseidon Modules provided by South Korea-based manufacturer Hanwha Q-Cells and floating structures supplied by Scotra itself. This facility is the largest in the country to the present date.
The floating plant has the shape of a flower. According to the project developer, will also become a tourist attraction.
Scotra previously built a 25 MW floating solar plant on a reservoir in Goheung county, in the South Korean province of Jeollanam, and a 500 kW pilot floating array at the Hapcheon dam itself.
A 72 MW project is also being developed at the Saemangeum sea wall on the Yellow Sea.
The South Korean ministry of environment in March had announced the plan to install 2.1GW floating capacity by 2030. This is a part of their program to become carbon neutral by 2050. The KRW4.6 trillion ($3.82 billion) project was unveiled in 2019. It will be in two stages, the first 1.2 GW phase will come online in late 2022 and the remaining by 2025.
Reference: PV Magazine