The Songpa Solar Model: Empowering Citizens Through Solar Energy in Seoul (2009–Present)

Launched in 2009 in Songpa District, Seoul, in the Republic of Korea, the Songpa Solar Nanum Power Plant uses profits from solar energy to support low-income households and reduce carbon emissions, mitigating rising energy poverty and climate change by redistributing energy revenues through community-led budgeting and citizen investments. The policy benefits over 15,000 residents, including migrant communities, young people, and people living with disabilities. By combining renewable energy with social welfare, it is an inclusive, participatory, and sustainable urban development model.

In the late 2000s, the Republic of Korea faced two converging crises. First, the country’s greenhouse gas emissions had surged by 115 percent between 1990 and 2008, making it one of the fastest-growing emitters among  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations. Seoul—with over 10 million residents and a heavy reliance on coal-based power, was a major contributor. Second, energy poverty was rising sharply. By 2008, over 1.2 million households—particularly the older populations, people living with disabilities and those living on low-incomes—struggled with the cost of energy.¹ In Songpa District alone, thousands of households spent upwards of 15–18 percent of their income on heating, far above the international threshold of 10 percent used to define energy poverty. Existing government subsidies (such as KRW 8,000, ~USD 6, per month in utility reductions) reached only about 8 percent of eligible households (those earning 30-40 percent below national minimum cost of living).

Songpa District initiated a new policy that merged renewable energy production with social and economic redistribution: the Songpa Solar Nanum (“Sharing”) Power Plant project.² Rather than treating green energy as a purely technological domain, this policy reimagined it as a tool for social empowerment and participatory governance.

Launched in 2009 through a public-private-nonprofit partnership, the Songpa Solar Nanum initiative operates on a foundational principle: the redistribution of solar energy profits to support citizens in need. Over time, it has grown into a district-wide network of five solar plants producing 1,233 kilowatts (kW) of capacity and over 19,600 megawatts (MWh) of electricity as of 2025, reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by 8,476 metric tons.³ The policy’s transformative value lies in its participatory structure, its integration of citizens as decision-makers and financial contributors, and its long-term welfare impact.

Co-Governance Through Public-Social-Private Partnership

The Songpa District Government co-manages the project with the Energy Peace Foundation (a Seoul-based NGO) and corporate partners like Samsung (the largest chaebol, or business conglomerate, in South Korea) and SK Group (multinational manufacturing and services conglomerate). Citizens are engaged not as passive beneficiaries but as financial and deliberative partners.⁴ Since 2012, over 12,000 residents have invested in the plants through a district-managed micro-investment platform, buying shares for as little as USD 37. These “solar citizens” elect representatives to oversight committees that review operational budgets, approve plant expansions, and vote on annual profit redistribution plans. This structure institutionalized citizen agency in infrastructure governance. In 2015, after a citizen vote prioritized home insulation upgrades over cash transfers, Songpa redirected KRW 74 million (USD 52K) of solar revenue into energy-efficient retrofits for over 400 aging apartments—reducing their winter heating needs by up to 22 percent.⁵ 

Participatory Budgeting for Energy Welfare

At the core of the redistribution model is a commitment to community-led welfare planning. Profits are allocated using a participatory budgeting process overseen by neighborhood-level committees, which include social workers, low-income residents, disabled persons, and randomly selected citizens. These committees apply a weighted scoring system to determine eligibility based on energy burden, household vulnerability, and housing inefficiency. The 2020 allocation round led to the replacement of pre-2010 refrigerators (which consumed up to 1,200 kWh/year) with new ENERGY STAR models in 3,128 households—cutting bills by 30–40 percent for recipients.⁶ 

Technology-Enabled Participatory Oversight

Songpa’s “Solar Wallet” smartphone app allows residents to track solar energy output, CO₂ savings, and welfare fund disbursements in real-time. The app includes blockchain-based voting features where citizens can propose new social initiatives and vote on priorities. Beneficiaries also submit satisfaction surveys that influence future spending decisions. In 2019, LED installations received a 4.2 out of 5 satisfaction score in mobile device surveys, prompting the district to expand that line item by 35 percent in the following year’s budget.⁷ 

Youth and Migrant Inclusion in Decision-Making

To broaden participatory access, Songpa instituted Youth Solar Councils—district-level bodies of students aged 14–18 who allocate 5 percent of solar profits to climate education projects. One such council in 2021 funded the installation of solar labs in four public schools. For multicultural families, Songpa introduced bilingual facilitators, pictogram-based visual tools, and separate deliberation spaces to ensure inclusivity. In 2022, a migrant family’s proposal for subsidized energy-saving induction cooktops was approved after being vetted in the multilingual budgeting sessions. This initiative benefited 217 mixed-nationality households.⁸ 

Implementation

The Songpa Solar Nanum Power Plant policy was formally initiated in 2009 by the Songpa District Government in Seoul, marking a key moment when local leaders sought to address both energy poverty and rising carbon emissions through an integrated strategy. The catalyst for this shift was the 2008 global financial crisis. In response, Songpa partnered with the non-governmental organization (NGO), Energy Peace Foundation, to develop a community-owned solar energy model that would redistribute profits to support energy-poor families.⁹ 

In 2009, Songpa District passed the Ordinance on Climate Change Response, making it the first local government in Seoul to institutionalize climate action at the district level. This ordinance provided legal grounds for launching the Solar Nanum initiative and established the Green Songpa Committee—a participatory governance platform involving citizens, experts, NGOs, and officials to oversee climate projects.

Implementation is led by a public-social-private partnership. The district government provides capital and oversight; Energy Peace manages plant construction and operations; and companies like Samsung and SK Group offer CSR-based funding and technology. Citizens participate directly via micro-investments and decision-making committees.

Since 2012, the model has been recognized in Seoul’s citywide “One Less Nuclear Power Plant” campaign and was included in national energy innovation programs. While no national law governs it, the model influenced Korea’s community energy guidelines and has been replicated in cities like Suwon and Guangzhou. The project’s success has made it a globally recognized example of local, participatory energy governance.

Cost

The total cost of the Songpa Solar Nanum Power Plant initiative is difficult to estimate precisely due to its multi-phase, multi-actor structure and evolving scope. Initial construction of the first four plants between 2009 and 2013 was estimated at approximately USD 7 million, funded through a mix of public financing from the Songpa District Government, corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions from companies like Samsung and SK Group, project-financing loans, and micro-investments from residents.¹⁰ However, as the initiative expanded—adding more plants, upgrading technology, and incorporating international aid—the cost structure became more complex. Annual operating expenses and reinvestments are sustained entirely by revenue from solar electricity sales and carbon credits, not government subsidies. A comprehensive cost-benefit analysis remains unavailable, particularly as future expansions under Seoul’s Green New Deal may include additional municipal and private-sector contributions, making precise long-term cost projections difficult to quantify.

Assessment

The Songpa Solar Nanum Power Plant has demonstrated notable success in aligning renewable energy generation with social welfare objectives. Over 16 years, the project generated approximately KRW 3.5 billion (USD 3.13 million) in revenue, enabling support for over 15,000 energy-poor households through bill subsidies, LED lighting, and appliance upgrades. It reduced over 8,000 metric tons of CO₂, contributing to Seoul’s climate targets.¹¹

The policy enjoys strong political support, anchored in Korea’s first local ordinance on climate change (2009) and integrated into Seoul’s broader “One Less Nuclear Power Plant” strategy.¹² 

Process management has been effective due to a robust public-private-citizen partnership involving the district government, Energy Peace Foundation, major corporations, and over 12,000 micro-investors. Citizen satisfaction remains high, with 94 percent stakeholder approval. 

However, limitations persist: the per-household welfare impact remains modest, and its small scale cannot address national-level energy transition goals. Additionally, the project’s dependence on favorable feed-in tariffs (FiTs)—government-guaranteed purchase prices for solar electricity—may threaten long-term viability under shifting market conditions. While FiTs ensured predictable income during the project’s early years by allowing electricity to be sold at a premium rate (e.g., KRW 162 or 12 cent USD per kWh), South Korea has since replaced them with more volatile market-based mechanisms.¹³ This transition may expose the Songpa model to financial uncertainty.¹⁴ Despite these challenges, the initiative has been replicated both domestically and internationally, showcasing its sustainability and cost-effectiveness as a community-driven policy. It offers a replicable framework for integrating climate action with equitable service delivery.

Additional Information

Eligibility for the government’s subsidy for utility reduction was decided by those who were registered under the Basic Livelihood Security Program (BLSP), the country’s welfare scheme. To qualify for this: households had to meet the income criteria of earning 30-40 percent below national minimum cost of living, also including assets and financial holdings. The reach was limited because people living in rural or older urban areas used kerosene or oil heating which was not included as a subsidy only applied to electricity and gas bills. Elderly people living alone, multi-child families por informal workers did not have the income documentation required despite facing energy burdens.

A feed-in tariff (FiT) is a system where the government promises to buy electricity from renewable energy producers—like solar plant owners—at a fixed, higher-than-market price for a long period (usually 15–20 years). This helps small projects like Songpa’s solar plants earn steady income and plan long-term. However, South Korea has mostly ended this system and replaced it with a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and a renewable energy certificate (REC) market, where prices go up and down based on demand. This change makes earnings less predictable and can make it harder for small, community projects to survive without extra support.

Aerial outdoor solar photovoltaic base in Asia under sunset © jeson/Adobe Stock.

Tags

• Asia & Pacific
• Children & Youth
• Climate & Environment
• High-Income Country
• Low-Income Groups
• Migrants & Refugees
• People with Disabilities
• Political & Civic Participation
• Redistribution
• Republic of Korea