South Korea Sets Solar Committee Boost Industry

South Korea launches a new solar committee to revive domestic manufacturing

South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) announced on Sept. 10 that it has formed a Solar Industry Competitiveness Committee to rebuild the country’s domestic solar supply chain and secure a foothold in next‑generation cell technology. The committee brings together government ministries, public research institutes, industry players, academia and civil‑society groups, and will collect feedback from companies on localisation challenges, design cooperation models across the value chain, and plan large‑scale demonstration sites for tandem cells and advanced inverters.

Committee targets 56.2 GW of new solar capacity by 2030, with a focus on tandem cells

The MCEE’s First Renewable Energy Basic Plan, released in May, sets a national goal of 100 GW of renewable capacity by 2030, up from about 37 GW at the time of the plan. Of that, roughly 56.2 GW of new solar must be added – split between 12 GW of large grid‑connected complexes and 44.2 GW from designated sites such as industrial rooftops, agrivoltaic farms, floating installations, transport corridors and public buildings. The committee will steer the rollout of perovskite‑silicon tandem modules aiming for ≥35 % efficiency by 2028, well above the International Technology Roadmap for Photovoltaic’s forecast of 28.8 % for mass‑production tandem cells in the same year.

Chinese modules now dominate South Korean market, prompting policy response

Data from the Korea Energy Agency show that Chinese‑made modules accounted for 69.3 % of installed capacity in 2025, up from a minority share in 2019 when domestic modules held 78.4 % of the market. The same figures indicate that about 95 % of cells and 60 % of modules sold domestically are Chinese‑made. This rapid shift has spurred the government to introduce a domestic production tax credit tied to output volumes, and to back the committee’s work with broader industry‑support measures.

Government incentives include a new Kepco subsidiary and a tax credit for local manufacturers

In late August, state utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (Kepco) launched Kepco Technology Holdings, initially capitalised at KRW 20 billion (≈US$14.9 million) with a plan to grow to KRW 100 billion over five years. The subsidiary will commercialise public‑sector patents and partner with seven domestic inverter manufacturers, creating a supply‑chain anchor for the nascent solar ecosystem. Parallel announcements detail a tax credit that rewards manufacturers based on the volume of locally produced cells and modules, reinforcing the committee’s mandate to rebuild the industry.

How South Korea’s solar push compares to Israel’s renewable targets

Israel aims for 30 % renewable electricity by 2030 (20 % by 2025). South Korea’s plan calls for 56.2 GW of new solar capacity. Both nations rely on government‑backed incentives, but South Korea is explicitly targeting next‑generation tandem technology, whereas Israel’s policy focus remains on expanding rooftop and utility‑scale PV under existing feed‑in tariffs.

What it means for Israel

For Israeli investors and installers, South Korea’s aggressive support for tandem cells signals a fast‑moving global market for high‑efficiency modules. If Korean manufacturers achieve ≥35 % efficiency at scale, the cost per watt could potentially decrease, making similar technology attractive for Israel’s high‑irradiance Arava region (annual yield ~1,950 kWh/kWp). Using Israel’s typical residential tariff of ₪0.48/kWh and a turnkey cost of ₪3,150/kWp, a 10 kWp home system would generate about 17,000 kWh/year, worth ≈₪8,160 annually, and pay back in ≈3.9 years. Should Korean‑produced tandem panels reach comparable prices, Israeli homeowners could see shorter payback periods and higher energy yields, accelerating the country’s path to its 30 % renewable target. Stakeholders should watch the committee’s demonstration projects for early‑adopter opportunities and consider partnering with Korean firms to import next‑gen modules once commercialised.

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