South Korean floating PV specialist Scotra has completed construction on a 41 MW floating solar array on a water reservoir at the Hapcheon dam, in South Korea’s South Gyeongsang province.
The plant was constructed for Korea Water Resources Corp., which is a governmental agency that manages water resources.
The facility is the largest floating PV plant built in the country to date. It was built with the Q.Peak Duo Poseidon modules for floating projects provided by South Korea-based manufacturer Hanwha Q-Cells and floating structures supplied by Scotra itself.
The floating plant has the shape of a flower and, according to the project developer, will also become a tourist attraction.
Scotra previously built a 25 MW floating solar plant on a reservoir in Goheung county, in the South Korean province of Jeollanam, and a 500 kW pilot floating array at the Hapcheon dam itself.
The company is also developing a 72 MW project at the Saemangeum sea wall on the Yellow Sea, for which it has also built a new 300 MW factory to produce floaters and frames.
In March, the South Korean Ministry of Environment announced a plan to install around 2.1 GW of floating PV capacity by 2030. The new 2.1 GW program is part of South Korea’s plan to become carbon-neutral by 2050. It will add to the 2.1 GW floating solar complex the South Korean government is developing near the Saemangeum tidal flats, on the coast of the Yellow Sea.
The KRW4.6 trillion ($3.82 billion) project was unveiled in 2019. It will be built in two stages, with the first 1.2 GW phase set to come online in late 2022 and adding the remaining capacity by 2025
