Renewable energy expansion to bring real income benefits to water-source protection zones

The government will expand the installation of renewable energy facilities in areas restricted for water-source protection — including water-source protection zones and riparian buffer zones — and broaden income support for local residents.

The Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy said Tuesday that the Cabinet approved amendments to the enforcement decrees of four river basin laws, including the Han River Water Management Act, and that the revised rules took effect that day.

The ministry has been running resident assistance projects — funded by river basin management funds — to support the welfare of communities upstream of designated water-source management areas, whose property rights are restricted by those designations.

The amendments maintain existing resident assistance programs while establishing a new legal basis for supporting the installation of renewable energy equipment — such as solar panels and heat pumps — at village halls, public facilities and private homes when residents request it, and for allowing local residents to share in the resulting power generation revenue.

Under the revised rules, cooperatives made up of residents in water-source protection zones will be allowed to install solar equipment without site restrictions. The ministry also amended the Water Source Management Rules to permit local governments and other water surface managers to directly install and operate floating solar facilities when residents participate in power generation projects.

Currently, solar installations within water-source protection zones are limited to building rooftops, select public facility sites and residential plots, and are prohibited on water surfaces.

Jo Hui-song, director general for water management policy at the ministry, said the rules were revised "to support residents who want to benefit from solar income by meaningfully expanding the installation of renewable energy facilities," adding that the ministry would "work to realize a sustainable development model suited to a new era in which the local economy and the environment thrive together."