Environmental

Construction starts on floating solar plant at South Korea’s Imha Dam

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Construction starts on floating solar plant at South Korea’s Imha Dam
(Image credit: 123rf)

Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. (KHNP) has celebrated the groundbreaking of the Imha Dam Floating Solar Photovoltaic Energy Cluster Project.

The multi-purpose Imha Dam is an embankment dam on the Banbyeoncheon River in Gyeongsangbuk-do province, South Korea. The purpose of the dam is flood control, water supply and hydroelectric power generation at a 50 MW station.

The solar project’s capacity will be 47 MW, the largest in Korea for a floating photovoltaic facility on a multipurpose dam, according to a KHNP release.

The project is designed to allow around 4,500 locals within a 1 km radius of the plant to share the profit from its power supply. Also, unique to the project is that the power generation facility will be built to resemble the Korean flag and Mugunghwa, Korea’s national flower.

“We expect the Imha Dam’s Floating Photovoltaic Power Project to play a crucial role in achieving Korea’s carbon neutrality,” said Sang-jo Yoon, head of KHNP’s Green Energy Business Division. “We will cooperate closely with the national government, regional governments, K-water and locals for the project’s success.”

In December 2021, Imha Dam’s floating solar power project was selected as Korea’s first new renewable energy cluster, a renewable power plant with a generation volume of at least 40 MW.

KHNP and K-water are co-developers of the project, with Top Solar acting as EPC.

Floating solar holds tremendous potential and could supply all the electricity needs of some countries, research from Bangor and Lancaster universities and the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology has shown. In a study of nearly 68,000 lakes and reservoirs around the world, scientists determined the potential annual electricity generation from FPV was 1,302 TWh, around four times the total annual electricity demand of the UK.

This article was adapted from one originally published on Power Engineering International.