GWANGJU < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

(Jeonnam-Gwangju=Yonhap News) Reporter Park Chul-hong = Jeonnam-Gwangju is taking countermeasures against concerns that renewable energy generated in the region could flow to the Capital region, where higher prices can be fetched due to the implementation of region-differentiated industrial electricity rates.

According to the 'RE100 Supply Plan for Attracting Corporate Demand' announced by the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City on the 2nd, renewable energy facilities currently in commercial operation within the region total 6.9 GW, including 6.4 GW of solar power and 0.5 GW of wind power.

Additionally, capacity that has received generation business permits and is awaiting grid connection reaches 31.6 GW, comprising 8.2 GW of solar power and 23.4 GW of wind power.

The Integrated City plans to leverage this abundant renewable energy to attract high-tech enterprises, including semiconductor facilities and artificial intelligence (AI) data centers.

The issue is that as the government lowers industrial electricity rates depending on the region, renewable energy power producers face a higher likelihood of entering into Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with companies in the Capital region that offer relatively higher prices.

If regional industrial electricity rates and Korea Electric Power Corporation’s (KEPCO) electricity purchasing prices decrease, power producers will have a stronger incentive to sell electricity to RE100 enterprises in the Capital region that offer higher price points.

During an executive meeting on the same day, the head of the Integrated City's Energy Industry Bureau explained, "Because renewable energy power plants can enter into PPAs regardless of location, even if we supply power cheaply in our region, it can be drawn away by other regions."

Accordingly, the Integrated City plans to address this by operating a tentative 'RE100 One-Grid Mega Platform' starting in January 2027, establishing a system to directly mediate transactions between local power producers and companies requiring RE100 power.

The city aims to secure 5 GW of intermediary resources centered on solar power by 2030 and push for ordinance revisions so that power generation facilities can be managed as regional RE100 resources starting from the application stage for power generation business permits.

To increase the renewable energy supply itself, the city plans to construct 1 GW of agrivoltaic solar power systems by 2030 and pursue a 40-MW direct current (DC) power supply pilot project directly connecting AI data centers and solar power generation facilities without passing through the main power grid.

Mayor Hyung-bae Min ordered the establishment of the PPA intermediary system and the overhaul of related institutions, stating, "We must go beyond merely generating large amounts of renewable energy within the region and build a system that directly connects it with actual corporate demand."

pch80@yna.co.kr



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Source Text

Source: Yonhap News (September 02, 2026)

** This article was translated from Korean.