47㎿ Scale…Power Generation Started 5 Years Early
Korea Water Resources Corporation (K-water, CEO Yoon Seok-dae) held a completion ceremony for a 47㎿ floating solar power plant at the Imha Multipurpose Dam Park in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
The event was attended by over 200 people, including Yoon Seok-dae, CEO of K-water, Geum Han-seung, Vice Minister of the Environment, Kwon Ki-chang, Mayor of Andong, Choi Young-sook, Head of the East Coast Region Headquarters of Gyeongsangbuk-do, Kim Hyung-il, Head of the Energy Mix Business Division at Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, and local residents.
The Imha Dam floating solar power plant is the first collective complex in the country created with the cooperation of the local community. It is the first model in the country to apply cross-transmission, which is seen as a turning point in overcoming the limitations of renewable energy expansion.
This project is a representative symbiotic model of ‘sunlight pension’, linking renewable energy with community income. A village corporation participated as an investor, and over the next 20 years, it will share approximately 22 billion KRW in generation revenue, including investment returns and support projects.
Through this, K-water aims to resolve the acceptance barrier of renewable energy expansion and create a structure for collaborating with local communities to drive energy transition.
K-water has been actively communicating with the residents of Gyeongsangbuk-do and Andong City since December 2021 to designate the Imha Dam floating solar power project as the first new and renewable energy collective complex in the country.
By introducing the country’s first cross-transmission method, they found a breakthrough to alleviate the power grid shortage issue. The existing power system, used for hydropower at Imha Dam, was utilized to alternately transmit power from solar during the day and hydropower at night.
Without being affected by the delay in national power grid expansion, power generation began five years ahead of the newly connected transmission line schedule.
It ensured that 308GWh of renewable energy that could power 26,000 households in Andong for five years did not remain in standby. The main monitoring center in Daejeon will monitor all renewable energy power plants 24/7 to secure system stability.
Meanwhile, K-water is the largest renewable energy generation company in the country, operating a renewable energy facility of 1.5GW across places like Chungju Dam and Siwha Tidal Power. It plans to develop approximately 6.5GW additional floating solar power by 2030.
The annual power production from this will be equivalent to reducing 39 million tons of carbon dioxide. K-water plans to support achieving RE100 for key national export industries such as semiconductors and actively support the Ministry of Environment’s greenhouse gas reduction policies by continuously expanding water renewable energy.
Yoon Seok-dae, CEO of K-water, stated, “The Imha Dam floating solar power is a meaningful model that enhances acceptance by linking energy transition with community revenue and suggests solutions to the power grid shortage by introducing cross-transmission. We will actively support the national agenda for achieving RE100 and contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of Korea’s export industry with ongoing renewable energy expansion and new model development.”