This solar power plant is located on Jarado Island in Anjwa-myeon Township of Sinan-gun County, Jeollanam-do Province.

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova
Photos = Sinan-gun County Office

Sinan-gun County, Jeollanam-do Province, has developed as a sustainable model of preventing population decline and raising the regional economy by distributing to its residents the earnings from the region's generation of renewable energy.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety in March released data saying that as of last year, 89 of the country's 228 cities, counties and districts were categorized as having declining populations.

The surging exodus of youth from agricultural and fishing areas in provinces like Gyeongsangbuk-do, Jeollanam-do and Gangwon-do has rapidly weakened the areas' communities and economic foundations.

Amid this phenomenon, Sinan-gun has adopted the nation's first "sunlight pension" of giving profits from its solar power generation to its residents. This has led to an economic breakthrough for the region while countering the national trends of depopulation and hollowing out of provincial regions.

The initiative's effects are palpable. The county's population last month reached 38,933, up 823 or 2.1% from December last year and a rise rare in agricultural and fishing regions, where depopulation is the norm.

The pension was launched in 2021 with a value of KRW 2.1 billion and has rapidly risen every year. Once the project by Jeonnam Offshore Wind Power is complete, a "wind pension" will be added to raise this year's green energy revenue to over KRW 12 billion.

The addition of a solar power plant expected next year is forecast to further raise annual revenue to KRW 13.7 billion.

A Sinan-gun official said, "We could distribute about KRW 6 million to each (county) resident per year from our earnings."

In addition, the county also provides a "sunlight children's allowance" for future generations. Launched in 2023, the venture initially provided KRW 400,000 per year to each child age 18 or below; the sum was doubled to KRW 800,000 last year and raised to KRW 1.2 million this year, or KRW 100,000 per month.

Among county residents, 43% are eligible for subsidies from renewable energy projects like the sunlight pension. This figure is expected to rise to 53% after the project by Jeonnam Offshore Wind Power and a solar power plant in Shineui-myeon Township are completed.

Officials from Sinan-gun County, Jeollanam-do Province, on May 12 take a photo after the county received the gold prize at the Green World Awards in Auckland, New Zealand.

Sinan-gun's policy has also received global accolades. The county on May 12 received the gold prize in green energy at the Green World Awards in Auckland, New Zealand. Dubbed the "Oscars of the environment," the honors go to governments, companies and organizations with innovative and practical achievements for a sustainable future.

The sunlight pension goes beyond a policy toward stimulation of population inflow; this Korean-style regional model of energy welfare redistributes earnings from renewable energy revenue to residents to boost sustainability.

This program is a solution to tackle the triple whammy of the low birth rate, rapidly aging population and climate crisis in lighting the future of the region.

aisylu@korea.kr