Sunlight Income Villages expand in South Korea to boost rural income

The ‘Sunlight Income Village’ initiative, a resident-led renewable energy project, is gaining significant traction in South Korea as a means to combat rural depopulation and provide stable community income. Under this model, residents form cooperatives to operate solar power facilities on idle land, reservoirs, or rooftops, sharing the resulting profits through dividends or community funds for welfare and local projects.

In the Jeonnam-Gwangju region, 19 villages were selected in the first round of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s public recruitment, with a record-breaking 164 villages applying for the second round. Selected villages, such as those in Naju and Damyang, are currently developing specific plans for floating or land-based solar installations.

In Shinan County, Sangseo 1-ri in Sinui-myeon was selected in the first round. To encourage participation and mitigate the risk of local extinction, Shinan County plans to use its local extinction response fund to cover 50% of the residents' required self-contribution costs. The county also aims to support the installation of Energy Storage Systems (ESS) to manage grid saturation in the region, ensuring that energy profits effectively circulate within the local economy.