South Korea plans major solar expansion to reach renewable goals
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South Korea expects to add 3.5 GW of solar power capacity in 2026, following 3.1 GW installed in 2025, according to Korea Eximbank.
The country’s government is developing a next-generation distributed power grid to better incorporate energy from sources like solar. This grid will use microgrids and will select operators starting in the second quarter of 2026. The government is also launching the Sunshine Income Villages initiative, which will install solar facilities on unused land, farms, and reservoirs.
Residents will form cooperatives to share in the energy and profits from these projects, with plans to establish 700 solar villages this year and 2,500 by 2030. To address interconnection challenges, South Korea signed agreements in July to build 128 MW/640 MWh of energy storage systems directly on distribution lines. The country aims for 700 MW of such systems by 2030, which would allow for an additional 1 GW of renewable energy to connect to the grid.
South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment recently created a committee to rebuild the nation’s domestic solar supply chain, as the country seeks to reach 100 GW of renewable capacity by the end of the decade.
