South Korea has set a target of reaching 87 GW of solar capacity by 2030 , as part of its new Korean Green Transformation (K-GX) strategy, which aims to bring the country's total renewable energy capacity to 100 GW by the end of the decade.
The projected increase is significant. By the end of 2025, South Korea had approximately 37 GW of renewable energy capacity, of which 31 GW were solar, 2 GW were wind, and 4 GW were other renewable technologies. By 2030, the government aims for 87 GW of solar, 9 GW of wind, and 4 GW from other renewable sources .
This implies that photovoltaic capacity would have to add around 56 GW more in five years , becoming the main driver of the renewable growth planned by the country.
The expansion is part of a broader strategy that aims to mobilize 1,000 trillion South Korean won, equivalent to about USD 747 billion, over the next decade , focusing on industrial decarbonization, renewable energy, electricity grids and clean mobility.
The Government plans to accelerate the deployment of solar energy by identifying new areas with available grid capacity and enabling different types of projects.
Among the priority sites are the districts of Sihwa and Hwaong , border regions covered with factories and agrivoltaic projects that combine photovoltaic generation with agricultural activity.
The strategy also seeks to reduce the costs of solar power generation.
The official goal is to go from approximately 150 KRW/kWh in 2025 to 100 KRW/kWh in 2030 , and subsequently to 80 KRW/kWh by 2035.
Renewable growth will be accompanied by a reform of the marketing scheme.
South Korea plans to phase out the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) system and the current spot market to replace them with a unified fixed-price mechanism based on competitive bidding .
The details of that new scheme should be known in January 2027.
The goal is to offer more predictable revenue signals for developers and support an expansion that will require a much faster rate of renewable energy incorporation than that seen in recent years.
Network infrastructure will be another pillar of the plan.
The Government plans to strengthen transmission to absorb the increase in solar and wind power generation, including a demonstration project for underwater high-voltage direct current (HVDC) between Saemangeum and Seohwaseong.
The initiative will have a specific company and is planned to run until 2030.
South Korea also plans to replace existing lines with higher capacity cables , as well as develop direct current networks intended to supply renewable electricity to industrial complexes, data centers linked to artificial intelligence and other large consumers.
$747 billion to transform energy and industry
The K-GX strategy goes beyond renewable expansion.
The program aims to mobilize public and private capital to accelerate the transformation of emissions-intensive sectors such as steel, petrochemicals, refining, cement, semiconductors, and displays .
The financial scheme envisions 200 trillion won of direct public investment , another 570 trillion through state-backed climate finance instruments — including loans, green bonds and guarantees — and around 230 trillion that should be mobilized from the private sector.
The government also aims to gradually reduce its reliance on coal. Its energy plans include the decommissioning of 60 coal-fired power plants by 2040 .
"The goal of the K-GX strategy is not only environmental, but a structural transformation of Korea's industrial landscape," Finance Minister Lee Hyoung-il said when presenting the program.
Solar expansion will, however, be one of the central pieces of that transformation.
If South Korea reaches its planned 87 GW of photovoltaic capacity by 2030 , the technology will account for approximately 87% of the country's total renewable capacity target and will have added approximately 56 GW compared to the level recorded at the end of 2025 .