Korea's Jeolla region emerging as the Mecca of Photovoltaic industry

Photovoltaic businesses are hogging the spotlight thanks to skyrocketing international oil prices, and Korea's Jeolla region is emerging as the Mecca of domestic solar industry. As oil prices continue to snowball, the world has been continuously bombarded by a countless amount of ideas relying on oil, coal and natural gases to be the solution to all our oil related dilemmas. Solutions that the global economy seems to be focusing on mostly comprise of the reliance on unsustainable fossil fuels that threaten our future with possible global climate change, toxic pollution and inevitable social unrest due to diminishing fuel supplies. That's where infinite and inexhaustible solar energy comes in.

Solar Mecca

According to related industry officials and Korea Energy Management Corporation affiliated New & Renewable Energy Center, Korea had three photovoltaic power plants in 2004, 13 in 2005 and 69 in 2006, and currently 211 as of January 2008. 50 percent of the photovoltaic power plants are located in Jeolla provinces; 80 in South Jeolla and 25 in North Jeolla.

So who has taken the initiative to provide aid in this power calamity? Firms such as Korea's Kedcom, Dongwon Industries, STX Engine and DC Chemical have taken steps into the thriving photovoltaic energy business and implementations are actively picking up pace.

Kedcom had purchased a 36,000§³ plot of land located in South Jeolla's Samsan subdivision of Haenam county and recently received consent to start solar power generation. The company will begin generating 1MW of solar energy starting from April. Kedcom had previously established a photovoltaic power plant on a 34,810§³ piece of land in South Jeolla's Kunsae subdivision of Youngum county and plans to generate 1.4MW of solar power will be beginning July.

Dongwon Industries also built a photovoltaic plant called Dongwon Solar Park whose annual power generation capacity is 1.46 million kW in South Jeolla's Gangjin county December last year. STX Engine is to invest 320 billion Won by year 2010 in a 660,000§³ patch located in Geogeum Island of Goheung county to construct a 40MW photovoltaic power plant along with other subsidiary facilities. DC Chemical also established a poly crystal silicon production plant, which is the chief substance for solar batteries, in North Jeolla's Gunsan and will begin production as of the second quarter this year.

Land of Sunshine

Photovoltaic generation plants are concentrated in Jeolla because of the region's profuse sunshine.

Korea's average solar radiation during the past 30 years from 1971 to 2000 was 17.1MJ(mega joule)/§³. Meanwhile, solar radiation in South Jeolla is 21.6MJ/§³ and 17.7MJ/§³ for North Jeolla, much higher than the national average.

This in turn makes South Korea's Jeolla region the ideal location for photovoltaic power generation, the Mecca of domestic solar.