Yeongam One Step Closer to Realizing the 'Green New Deal City'

Sollis Co., Ltd. Promotes Large-Scale Solar Power Plant Project Utilizing Saline-Affected Farmland

Provides 200-Pyeong Smart Farm Site Free of Charge for 20 Years Based on 4,500 Pyeong

On the afternoon of the 2nd, attendees at the Smart Farm Sample House held in Samho-eup, Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do, are inspecting the crops.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] On the 2nd, an event to directly experience a ‘smart farm’ that integrates advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data into agriculture to satisfy productivity and diversity was held in Samho-eup, Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do.

The event, hosted by Sollis E&D Co., Ltd., was held on a small scale to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with about 60 attendees including Jin Jeong-hoon, director of Sollis E&D Co., Ltd., Lee Sang-hoon, head of Myungseong Pracon, and landowners.

Sollis Co., Ltd. is promoting the construction of a large-scale solar power generation complex utilizing salt-damaged farmland in the Yeongsan River 3-1 district in Samho-eup and Miam-myeon, Yeongam-gun, Jeollanam-do.

The project scale is a total of 3 trillion KRW, and about 700,000 pyeong of the farmland needed for the project has been secured from landowners.

The ‘Yeongam Green New Deal City,’ which Sollis E&D Co., Ltd. is creating with a 2GW solar power generation complex and smart farms on salt-damaged reclaimed land, aims to transform the existing salt-damaged farmland into a solar power generation complex and operate smart farms that combine advanced technology and farmers’ know-how on alternative land to maximize productivity.

For self-cultivating and leased farmers who provide the farmland, a smart farm site of about 200 pyeong based on approximately 4,500 pyeong will be provided free of charge for 20 years.

In that sense, the completion ceremony of the smart farm sample house held that day was also the first gateway to a new era of agriculture.

The smart farm sample house was a scaled-down version of the smart farm center to be developed on a scale of 300,000 pyeong in the future.

While the existing farming was a vinyl greenhouse actually cultivating crops such as strawberries, paprika, tomatoes, and cucumbers, this was a vinyl greenhouse and facility integrated with advanced technology.

Residents of the project site showed unfamiliarity but interest as they toured the smart farm sample house and encountered the unfamiliar cultivation environment.

An additional explanation by Myungseong Pracon, which actually constructed the smart farm sample house, was given on site.

Lee Sang-hoon, head of Myungseong Pracon, said, “Smart farms are a virtuous cycle system that supports the entire process from production of agricultural products to processing, distribution, and sales channels, contributing to the enhancement of regional agricultural competitiveness,” and added, “The smart center will be designed to withstand strong typhoons and other conditions.”

Jin Jeong-hoon, director of Sollis E&D Co., Ltd., who hosted the event, emphasized, “The Yeongam smart farm center can achieve productivity equivalent to 40,000 to 50,000 pyeong of rice farming based on 1,000 pyeong, and by creating an environment where various crops including Yeongam regional specialties can be cultivated using advanced Internet of Things (IoT) technology, it is expected to establish a joint production and management system.”

He added, “The government is setting a higher power purchase price for electricity from solar power projects when local governments or residents directly participate by granting REC weighting, so participation from local governments and residents is necessary.”

Meanwhile, Jeollanam-do has selected 52 young entrepreneurs for smart farms since last year and is conducting long-term specialized education for 20 months covering theory, practice, and management.

In addition, to foster the upstream and downstream industries of smart agriculture, industry-academia-research-government cooperation will collect, store, and analyze environmental growth data within smart farms through technological innovation, and provide this as basic agricultural information for farms in the province to utilize.