South Korea is Planning a 3 GW Renewable Overhaul on Reclaimed Land

The South Korea government is planning to completely overhaul a major part of its reclaimed land in Saemangeum, an estuarine tidal flat on the coast of the Yellow Sea. These are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. As a part of the overhaul the Saemangeum Development and Investment Agency (SDIA), an agency run under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport is planning for nearly 3GW of solar PV projects alongside smaller capacity additions of wind and battery storage solutions. 

The agency will oversee 2.6GW of projects. Which will include 2.4GW of solar PV projects, 100MW of wind energy projects and an additional 100MW of battery storage. To complete the 3GW capacity, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) will oversee the development of 400MW of solar projects. 

The project overview was announced earlier this week. However, currently only in the idea phase, detailed plans for the project are expected later this year. The projects would be located on reclaimed land at Saemangeum, which the Korean Government is hoping to turn into a global business hub and free trade hub of Northeast Asia, after a major damming operation known as the Saemangeum Seawall Project, completed in 2010, said to be the largest dyke in the world.

In September, SDIA announced that it has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on constructing ‘solar module and energy storage system(ESS)’ with Rena International as well as NemoENG to establish ‘floating body and mooring system for photovoltaic power and energy storage device’, with a combined investment of $91 million between 2018 and 2022. 

Separately, the Jeonbuk Province government has released a statement announcing its plans for up to 1GW of offshore windfarms off the coast of the city of Gunsan, as well as plans to build a port behind the offshore wind farm to attract manufacturing companies.