[Getty Images Bank]
[Getty Images Bank]

Idle land once used as a military training ground is set to become a solar power plant that generates income for local residents. The government is moving ahead with a "sunshine income village" initiative under which villagers operate the plant themselves and channel the proceeds back into community welfare and household income.

Minister of Interior and Safety Yun Ho-jung visited Sangpan-ri in Jojong-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi Province on Wednesday to inspect preparations at a candidate site for the program and discuss plans with residents.

The sunshine income village program installs village-scale solar power plants on idle land, public sites, reservoirs and farmland, with residents running the facilities directly. The core idea is to return generation revenues to the village community — rather than to outside operators — to boost resident welfare, raise household incomes and revitalize the local economy.

The Sangpan-ri site involves repurposing idle military land formerly used as a training ground by the Capital Mechanized Infantry Division, known as the Maengho (Tiger) Unit. The Ministry of Interior and Safety reviewed the project's readiness as a potential model for civilian-government-military cooperation.

A community meeting held afterward covered the formation of a village cooperative, plans for using the project site and proposals to install an above-ground solar power plant of about 1 MW. Yun listened to residents' requests and the difficulties they had encountered in advancing the project, and explored ways to provide support.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety launched the sunshine income village project for the first time this year. It opened applications in March and closed the first round in May, with final selection now under way. A second application round is also planned to bring in additional villages.

The ministry will work with local governments to step up outreach so more villages can join the program, and will develop tailored support measures suited to each community's conditions.

"Local governments must take a proactive and responsible role in ensuring that residents do not run into difficulties with administrative procedures or regulations as they pursue the project," Yun said. "The Ministry of Interior and Safety will also actively support the sunshine income village — a new model of energy self-governance — so that it takes root successfully and spreads across the country."


adastra@heraldcorp.com