World’s largest solar plant to be built in South Jeolla

Construction of the world’s largest solar energy power plant will begin today in Shinan County, South Jeolla, announced Dongyang Engineering & Construction. The 20-megawatt plant will be located just outside Mokpo.
“The construction will be concluded in November 2008,” said Lee Gil-jae, president of Dongyang. Standard Chartered First Bank Korea led the funding on the 138 billion won ($149 million) project with Tong Yang Insurance, Kumho Life Insurance, Kwangju Bank and the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives Bank.
Currently, the largest solar energy plant is the Bavaria Power Plant in Germany, with generating capacity of 11 megawatts.
The facility will occupy 147 acres, an area as big as 80 soccer fields. More than 100,000 photo electric cell modules will be installed to receive sunlight. Electricity to supply approximately 6,000 households will be generated at the plant.
With the clean energy, 20,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission can be reduced, claimed Lee. About 23,000 cars produce that amount of carbon dioxide annually.
Dongyang will be operating the plant for at least 15 years. The company expects to recover the 15.6 billion won it invested within 10 years. The financial organizations that invested 138 billion won have put the break even point at about 14 years.
The market price of electricity generated at the private plant is about 60 won per kilowatt when the Korea Electric Power Corporation purchases it. However, according to laws established to promote the use of alternative energy, the government has to guarantee 677.38 won for 15 years.
“After 15 years, basically all the sales will be directly transferred to profit, because the operating cost is very low,” said task force team leader Lee Jang-uk at Dongyang. “We expect the facility to function for more than 40 years.”

By Hwang Young-jin Staff Writer [yhwang@joongang.co.kr]