South Korean Solar System Community on Jeju Island a Brilliant Idea
Solar System Powers Donggwang Green Village on Semi-Tropical Jeju Island
Donggwang is on the western half of Jeju-do, the largest of South Korea’s semi-tropical southern islands. Near the village, Halla Mountain, a volcano and the tallest mountain in South Korea, rises from the island’s center amidst a patchwork of small farms.
Donggwang has achieved what even the most powerful countries in the world are still struggling to accomplish: total energy independence with clean technology.
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On the roof of each of the 40 houses in Donggwang lies a large beds of solar panels. Even the small, local elementary school runs on free electric energy from the sun. The photovoltaic panels produce enough energy to power the entire area. Amidst cattle and fields, Donggwang is a state-of-the-art renewable energy village.
I spoke with Choo Chan Lee, who lives in Donggwang. Mr. Lee, a Seoul native, retired to Donggwang green village after operating a successful grocery store in New York for many years. He and his wife invited me in for tea to talk about the solar system and their life in Donggwang.
“Dongwang is a solar town,” Mr. Lee says. “[The solar systems] are a lot of help for us. Mine is 2.1 kW.”
In 2004, the government helped to install solar systems in Donggwang, paying 70% of the installation fees.
“They told us this is your town,” recalls Mr. Lee. “Do you wand them or not? We said that we would like them.”
When asked whether he is concerned about environmental issues, Mr. Lee replies casually, “Yeah, the environment is a very important issue. In Jeju we don’t have many factories, so the air is very nice. Very nice environment. The motto is a clean city - clean island. They’re trying to do this solar and then the windmills. My favorite part of living in Jeju is the fresh air. The clean air.”
More Posts on Solar Power:
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- Solar Energy Could Power U.S. Many Times Over
Photo credit (top, above): Gavin Hudson, EcoWorldly
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Hi Alex,
Yes, I love the ones you’ve recommended. If you’re looking for more great green blogs and resources, take a look through our blogroll, located on the right side of our homepage, below the categories.
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Are they storing power for the dark hours or using the grid?
Wow that sounds wonderful..
Hah, that’s funny. I just spent a year in korea, and it’s interesting seeing the difference between the way they care about environmental issues compared to the way we think about it in America. I guess because they can’t afford to waste considering their limited resources.
Get them while its still economically feasible. With the magnified photovoltaics coming out there will be a short period for this phenomenon. Then of course as demand increases on the limited resources necessary to produce them the price will increase exponentially.
[...] Korea. Fully solar. If they can do it. So can we. South Korean Solar System Community on Jeju Island a Brilliant Idea : EcoWorldly And a related link. http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/05/12/…s-clyde-river/ __________________ [...]
Wow this is absolutely awesome news! It’s nice to see the world going towards greener energy sources. Now there is a city running on wind power http://cleantechnica.com/2008/05/05/first-wind-powered-city/ there are cities powered on hydrogen http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23451723/ and cars running on half water half gasoline http://www.water4gas-scam.com
Too bad people didn’t come up with these 50 years ago. I guess clean fuels will only come out further with $8-10 gas on the horizon.
I wonder what the maintenance costs are? Probably worth it given the clean air.
Wow, a very cool thing to do. I hope that more cities will do the same. I think nature power is also the best way to go for those who want to live away from city life…