The South Korean government is planning to make solar panels mandatory on the rooftops of new factories, part of a wider push to speed up its renewable energy transition and reduce reliance on external fuel sources.

The proposal, presented by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, comes as President Lee Jae Myung framed the ongoing Middle East crisis as a turning point for the country’s energy strategy. He said the pace of grid transformation will be critical for long-term energy security.

At the centre of the plan is a sharp scale-up in renewable capacity. The government is targeting 100 gigawatts of installed capacity, well ahead of its 2030 goal. Current capacity stands at about 37 gigawatts, so this would mean nearly tripling output within four years.

Solar is expected to do most of the heavy lifting. Alongside rooftop installations on factories and industrial complexes, the government is also looking at agro-photovoltaic systems on farmland and floating solar projects on reservoirs. The expansion is likely to support demand for materials such as aluminium, which is widely used in solar panel frames and mounting structures.

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The plan also includes sharing profits with local communities. Residents would be allowed to invest in transmission infrastructure and receive a share of project income, with officials estimating that around 10 million people could benefit. The government has also suggested that underused farmland could generate higher returns through solar than traditional agriculture.

Still, the scale of the target is raising questions. Reaching it would require adding 56 gigawatts of solar capacity in four years, more than 14 gigawatts annually. By comparison, only 3.9 gigawatts were added last year, according to the Korea Energy Agency.

Grid limitations remain a major concern. Even if generation capacity rises, insufficient transmission lines and substations could restrict how much electricity actually reaches demand centres. Lee Won-ju, a senior official working on energy transition policy, said that expanding grid capacity and deploying energy storage systems will be key to managing this.

There are challenges as well regarding solar variability. Output peaks during the day and decreases during the night, which is known as the duck curve, requiring backup from traditional power sources. Weather conditions cause variability as well. 

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Moon Joo-hyun, energy engineering professor at Dankook University, warned that rapid expansion without proper storage could potentially lead to an increase in electricity costs. 

Beyond that, the government is also looking to accelerate electrification across sectors. Heat energy, which accounts for 48 per cent of total consumption, will be managed at a national level with plans to shift residential and industrial heating away from LNG towards newer models like electricity and renewable energy. This includes large-scale adoption of heat pumps, including air, geothermal, and water-based energy. 

In the transport sector, the goal is to increase the portion of electric and hydrogen vehicles to 40 per cent of new car sales by 2030, focusing on fleet vehicles like taxis, police cars, and corporate cars. 

Coal-fired power plants are planned to be phased out by 2040, although 21 plants will be retained as backup to manage supply risks like spiking fuel prices or renewable shortcomings. 

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