South Korea introduces life cycle-based carbon footprint rules for solar modules
South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Motie) has fleshed out the rules which will see the carbon footprint of solar power projects taken into account when prioritizing new installations.
With the government having announced its intent to assess the carbon footprint of solar panels in March last year, and industry representatives consulted on the proposal in recent months, Motie has defined the new regulations, which are due to come into force from June 15.
Crystalline silicon module carbon footprints – for Korean as well as imported products – will be estimated using an LCA of their environmental impacts which complies with Korean standard KS I ISO 14040.
The new rules will echo those applied in France, where large scale solar tenders take low-carbon manufacturing into account, as well as the price developers agree to accept for the power generated. South Korea, like France, has an extensive nuclear power generation capacity which will aid the low-carbon efforts of domestic solar panel manufacturers.
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