"Install Village Solar Power and Receive 25% Annual Sunlight Income"

Gyeonggi Province is recruiting villages interested in participating in the ‘Gyeonggi RE100 Opportunity Income Village,’ which provides residents with an annual dividend yield of over 25% from the sale of solar electricity by supporting 80% of the installation costs for community solar power plants. Applications are open until the 28th of this month.

This project focuses on rural and other energy-vulnerable areas, where community groups of 10 or more households jointly install commercial solar power plants using private or communal land within the village.

The scale of the power plant can be up to 1,000 kW, with 10?15 kW per household, ensuring an annual dividend yield of at least 25% relative to the investment amount. A consortium consisting of the city/county, village community, construction companies, and resident-participatory energy cooperatives can apply. Gyeonggi Province and the city/county will support 80% of the total project cost.

Gyeonggi RE100 Village Project Promotional Poster

For example, if the cost to install a 100 kW solar power plant in a village is 17 million KRW, 80% of this will be subsidized, so the actual resident burden is about 3.5 million KRW, which is 20%. Additionally, the revenue from selling the electricity generated by the power plant goes to the village residents, while the revenue from selling Renewable Energy Certificates (REC) is collected by the province and city/county for reinvestment.

Renewable Energy Certificates are certificates that prove energy was supplied using renewable energy facilities. They are sold to renewable energy obligated suppliers through spot markets or fixed-price bidding contracts.

In practice, Machimi Village in Pocheon formed a cooperative of 33 households in 2023 and installed a 495 kW solar power plant, which began operation in June last year. The revenue has been used to cover incidental costs such as prepaid land rent and insurance fees. From 2025, dividends will be paid to residents in earnest, with the January dividend amounting to 200,000 KRW.

Kim Yeon-ji, Director of the Energy Industry Division of Gyeonggi Province, stated, "The Gyeonggi RE100 Village project, led by village communities, is an innovative economic model supporting energy-vulnerable areas. Residents produce renewable energy within their village spaces and design their retirement with the profits, expanding self-sufficient energy welfare and creating new vitality in the local economy."