Root Power Completes Korea’s 1st Offshore Wind Resident Participation Program

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Root Power Inc., Korea’s main renewable vitality native acceptance answer supplier in addition to a licensed B Corp, has efficiently raised KRW 20 billion (approx. $15 million) crowdfunded by residents of Suwon-ri, Hallim-eup, Jeju Island. It permits Korea’s largest offshore wind farm Jeju Hallim Offshore Wind to satisfy qualification for resident participation licensed by the Korean authorities — the primary such mission to realize that within the nation.

Hallim Offshore Wind is Korea’s largest offshore wind energy era mission, with 18 turbines of 5.56 MW producing a complete of 100 MW of electrical energy. This mission with a complete price of KRW 630 billion (approx. $470 million) started building in January 2022 and the corporate goals to finish it by October 2024.

Root Power is the primary to hold out a community-based crowdfunding mannequin with greater than 667 residents, and to lift the most important group funding of over KRW 20 billion (KRW 30 million per capita on common) in Korea. This case units a major precedent each domestically and globally, laying the muse for residents to take the lead in sharing of earnings generated by close by energy crops.

Amongst completely different strategies of renewable vitality resident participation, the corporate determined to decide on the community-based sort, which was evaluated to permit residents to actively specific their opinions. As Suwon-ri is the village closest to the Hallim Offshore Wind Farm and is the world whose panorama and way of life are most affected by energy plant building. It will be important that residents ought to independently resolve the right way to share advantages.

By collaborating, Suwon-ri residents will obtain a part of earnings generated via electrical energy gross sales upon the completion of the offshore wind farm. Additionally, they’ll be capable to take initiative in revenue sharing plans to advance native companies akin to distribution of native agricultural and marine merchandise and establishing horizontal village motels. Horizontal village motels are an concept of city regeneration of previous or decaying cities which lets guests immerse themselves within the attraction of the native space as a substitute of staying in a excessive resort.

“As Korea pledged to triple renewable vitality at COP28, for it to change into extra broadly distributed, it has no selection however to regularly change into nearer to residents’ residing and dealing areas. With out residents each understanding the necessity for renewable vitality and actively participating with it, the enlargement of renewable vitality will attain the restrict in some unspecified time in the future,” Yoon Tae-hwan, CEO of Root Power, mentioned.

“This Hallim Offshore Wind Energy resident participation case exhibits the potential of renewable vitality growth the place residents take lead, going past the resident participation. As an organization specializing in group acceptance, Root Power will proceed to make efforts to foster native co-existence via resident main renewable vitality revenue sharing tasks,” added Yoon.

As a licensed B Corp pursuing social and environmental worth, Root Power goals to speed up internet zero by offering skilled providers associated to renewable vitality, together with a web based group funding platform, stakeholder engagement, native committees, and RE100 options in addition to unbiased energy tasks (IPPs). The corporate is main native co-existence options via renewable vitality with greater than 14GW offshore/onshore wind and solar energy resident participation tasks in progress throughout the nation.

Courtesy of Root Power.