SEOUL: In South Korea where an aging population, climate change and economic hardship are putting pressure on rural communities, the government is implementing a program that aims to bolster agriculture and speed up the transition to renewable energy.
President Lee Jae Myung’s administration aims to create more than 500 so-called Sunshine Income Villages by the end of the year and 2,500 by 2030.
Under the scheme, farmers are given loans for up to 90 percent of the cost to install solar panels on their land. For the first five years after installation they have to pay back only the interest on the loan, with the principal added to the repayments after that.
Any proceeds from the sale of surplus energy go directly to the residents.
The villages of Guyang-ri in Gyeonggi province and Songam-ri in Gangwon province are touted by the government as early examples of the project’s success.
Six solar panel sites in Guyang-ri have a total capacity of 1 megawatt — with plans to expand that to 5 MW — and generate more than 100 million won ($66,000) of income per year for the village’s 130 residents, most of whom are elderly.
“I think the future for this village is very bright,” local Kim Choonok told Arab News.
“It’s only been just a year and a half since we have been able to acquire income from the solar energy but we’re actually feeling this first hand. We have had so many people wanting to see how this project is being carried out and a lot of interest, not just from Korea but also abroad.”
Despite the burden of paying back the loan, village chief Ju Young Jeon said he was confident that the generators would be profitable and could even create new jobs for young people, most of whom have left to find work in the cities.
“Our village, of course, with declining job opportunities elsewhere would be able to actually provide opportunities for the younger people,” he said.
The residents of Guyang-ri, which lies two hours southeast of the capital Seoul, gather daily for lunch prepared by two chefs and three helpers, all of whom are paid out of the income from the solar panels.
The scheme has also paid for a minibus and driver to take residents on free trips and to nearby health clinics, as well as a golf course and a table tennis table.
In Songam-ri, about two hours northeast of Seoul, solar power generation has become a main source of income for the village, along with its rice mill, which produces about 15 tonnes a day.
The generator, built on converted farmland, produces 657 megawatt-hours and more than 100 million won per year.
The money helps to pay for free meals and milk deliveries for residents of the village and its neighbors, as well as support for vulnerable people and donations to senior welfare foundations.
Village chief Seong-su Hong said the village had suffered hardships in the past as the prices of the products sold by farmers had been stagnant for the past 10 years while the cost of the things they needed to buy had soared.
But the solar project had brought much-needed additional income and created 21 jobs, he said.
“For the three years that I have been operating on this project we have been able to grow as a community together,” Hong said.
“If any other village in South Korea wants to initiate this project, I highly recommend them to do so and I will do my best to support them and help them as much as possible.”
