A view of Hanwha Qcells’ Jincheon plant in North Chungcheong Province. /Hanwha Qcells
Hanwha Solutions’ (009830) Qcells division (Hanwha (000880) Qcells) will supply domestically produced solar cells and modules to the largest single-site solar power project in Korea.
Hanwha Qcells announced Tuesday that it will supply high-efficiency solar cells and modules manufactured in Korea to Korea South-East Power’s 400-megawatt (MW) solar power project.
Korea South-East Power is developing a large-scale solar power plant on a 1.4 million-pyeong (4.79 square kilometers) site in Haenam County, South Jeolla Province. Targeting completion by June 2028, the project is considered Korea’s largest renewable energy initiative, designed to meet rapidly growing electricity demand.
Korea South-East Power recently selected a preferred bidder for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. The EPC company will install 640,000 solar modules using cells produced domestically by Hanwha Qcells. All of the solar cells and modules to be supplied will be manufactured at Hanwha Qcells’ Jincheon plant in North Chungcheong Province, the company’s largest production base in Korea.
The project is being carried out in line with the government’s policies to expand renewable energy supply and revitalize the domestic solar industry ecosystem. The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment previously unveiled its “First Basic Plan for Renewable Energy,” announcing plans to build 10 ultra-large solar power complexes to expand domestic renewable energy capacity to 100 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.
The Korean solar industry expects this project to mark a turning point for the recovery of the slumping market. Analysts say that the government’s policies to expand renewable energy supply and encourage the use of domestic products could serve as a catalyst for restoring the ecosystem by strengthening the domestic manufacturing-based renewable energy supply chain.
“By supplying high-efficiency Korean-made solar cells and modules to a large-scale project, we have created an opportunity to prove the technological competitiveness of Korea’s solar industry,” said Yoo Jae-yeol, head of Hanwha Qcells’ Korea business division. “If the government’s renewable energy expansion policy continues alongside the trend of expanding the use of domestically produced goods, it will have a positive impact on restoring the Korean solar industry ecosystem and expanding related investment.”