Haenam County Selected as Final Candidate Site for Distributed Energy Specialized Zone

Momentum Builds for Solar Power Complex Construction
and AI Data Center Attraction

Haenam County in South Jeolla Province (Governor Myung Hyun-kwan) has been selected as a final candidate site for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Distributed Energy Specialized Zone (Distributed Special Zone), raising expectations that the establishment of a large-scale solar power complex and the attraction of a global AI data center within the region will gain momentum.

According to the county on May 22, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held a working committee meeting for distributed energy specialized zones at the aT Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on May 21. During the meeting, seven out of eleven local governments nationwide were finally selected as candidate sites for the distributed special zone. The seven selected candidate sites are categorized by demonstration objectives: ▲ New Industry Activation Type (Jeju, Busan, Gyeonggi, North Gyeongsang) and ▲ Demand Attraction Type (Ulsan, South Chungcheong, South Jeolla).

Aerial view of Yeongam and Haenam tourism and leisure-oriented enterprise cities. Provided by Haenam County

The distributed special zone is an area where regulations such as the existing Electric Utility Act and power market operation rules are relaxed, in accordance with the Special Act on the Promotion of Distributed Energy enacted last year, to demonstrate new energy businesses. The core objectives are to alleviate supply-demand imbalances between regions and to discover new market models by allowing ▲ direct power transactions, ▲ applying lower electricity rates, and ▲ establishing energy self-sufficient structures.

Haenam County has proposed a new urban model integrating 'AI, renewable energy, and advanced technology' by establishing the world's largest AI supercluster hub and a data center-specialized RE100 industrial complex to attract energy-intensive advanced companies, such as data centers, within the Solaseado enterprise city. In addition, the strategy includes fostering an offshore wind power equipment cluster in connection with the offshore wind power hinterland complex in the Samho Sampojigu area of Yeongam.

If designated as a distributed special zone, various regulatory exemptions such as those under the Electric Utility Act and power market operation rules will apply, enabling a variety of business models including direct power transactions and demonstrations of new energy businesses. Furthermore, bold incentives will be provided, such as effective exemption from power grid impact assessments for large-scale electricity users like data centers, reductions in power grid usage fees and electricity rates, and direct transactions between distributed energy operators and electricity users.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy plans to finalize the designation of distributed special zones for the selected candidate sites through deliberation by the Energy Committee in June. Once designated, region-specific new power business models will be institutionalized, and it is expected to drive a paradigm shift in the overall energy industry by resolving transmission constraints and output control issues caused by grid saturation.

Governor Myung Hyun-kwan stated, "If designated as a distributed special zone, it will be a great boost for attracting global advanced companies," adding, "Even if there is only a 1% chance, I will do my utmost to secure growth engines for future new industries and respond to the crisis of regional extinction."