Jeonnam Province's 'Carbon Neutral Edu Center' Construction Project Gains Momentum

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Passes Central Investment Review for Local Finance

Jeonnam Province has gained momentum in promoting the construction of the 'Carbon Neutral Edu Center' planned for the Solarsido Enterprise City.

The province announced on the 6th that the Carbon Neutral Edu Center has passed the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's local finance central investment review.

The Carbon Neutral Edu Center will be built by the Ministry of Environment, Jeonnam Province, and Haenam County with a total project cost of 42.5 billion KRW on a 57,500㎡ site in the Enterprise City. It is planned to include exhibition and educational facilities as well as outdoor experience facilities, with detailed design to be completed in 2024 and construction and opening targeted for 2025.

In 2021, the province set the basic direction and promotion strategy for the project by conducting a basic plan and feasibility study in collaboration with the Korea Environment Corporation. This year, it secured 2 billion KRW in national funds, and with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's financial investment review passed, the project is now on track.

Jeonnam Province and Haenam County have been dedicated to ensuring that the 'Carbon Neutral Edu Center,' a national education facility aimed at achieving the government's 2050 carbon neutrality goal and raising awareness of environmental conservation, is established in Solarsido Enterprise City, which is being developed as a smart city based on renewable energy.

The center plans to operate educational programs for more than 50,000 people annually, including public officials, businesspeople, and experts, and to run exhibition and experience facilities that showcase carbon neutrality policies and technologies, as well as future changes in local communities resulting from carbon neutrality realization.

Solarsido Enterprise City, being developed as a Jeonnam-style smart blue city, aims to create a self-sufficient city with functions such as jobs, tourism, housing, education, and medical care, and operates the largest solar power plant in Korea with a capacity of 98 MW.

Additionally, it is promoting an RE100 exclusive pilot complex that supplies 100% renewable energy to the entire industrial complex and San-i Garden, a 500,000㎡ (160,000 pyeong) complex leisure and cultural space.

With the construction of the Carbon Neutral Edu Center, it is expected that Jeonnam Province will attract various investment projects such as green convergence clusters aligned with the urban vision of Solarsido Enterprise City, transforming the province into a leading region for carbon neutrality and renewable energy.

Gwak Jun-gil, Jeonnam Province's Enterprise City Officer, said, “The construction of the Carbon Neutral Edu Center will lay the foundation for the nation to respond to future energy and environmental issues,” adding, “We will actively strive to complete the Carbon Neutral Edu Center on time to serve as a catalyst for realizing carbon neutrality.”