Construction of Solar Power Research Center in Daejeon Science Belt... World's Largest Scale of '100MW Class'

Aerial view of the Solar Energy Research Center. Provided by Daejeon City

[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] In 2023, the world's largest "Solar Power Company Shared Research Center" (hereinafter referred to as the Solar Power Research Center) will be established in the Daejeon International Science Business Belt.

Daejeon City announced on the 2nd that it has attracted the "100MW-class Solar Power Research Center for Mass Production Verification and Next-Generation Technology Development," promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, to the region.

The Solar Power Research Center is considered a key project in the energy sector of the government's "Korean New Deal Comprehensive Plan" announced last July. The government plans to foster the solar cell and module industry as a national strategic industry by establishing a 100MW-class pilot line for solar cells and modules and providing a testbed research facility jointly used by solar power companies.

Earlier, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced a call for project operators nationwide through the Korea Energy Technology Evaluation Institute in September while promoting the construction project of the Solar Power Research Center.

Subsequently, three local governments including Daejeon, Chungbuk, and Gwangju entered the competition to attract the Solar Power Research Center. During this process, Daejeon reportedly received high scores from evaluators for its research innovation capabilities and location conditions.

The construction project of the Solar Power Research Center is overseen by the Korea Institute of Energy Research as the lead institution. Daejeon formed a consortium with participating institutions including Daejeon Technopark, Chungnam National University, and Korea University.

The Solar Power Research Center will be built on a 9,840㎡ site within the Science Belt's New East District. The project period is three years until 2023, with a total budget of 50 billion KRW (national funds 25.3 billion KRW, city funds 21 billion KRW, Energy Research Institute 2.1 billion KRW).

The city expects that once the Solar Power Research Center is established, solar power companies will be able to verify processes and performance using the 100MW-class production line before mass-producing products developed individually by each company.