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Yonggwang

Solar power plant in Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Approximate location 35.419, 126.4286.

SolarJeollanam-doSouth Korea

Yonggwang is a 3 MW solar power plant in Jeollanam-do, South Korea. It is operated by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 1.3k homes (estimated). It ranks #202 of 216 South Korea power plants by installed capacity. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, solar supplies about 6.1% of South Korea's electricity; the national grid averages 417 gCO₂/kWh (40.0% low-carbon) (2025).

3Source-backed capacity
1,276homes powered (est.)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1029911.

Data status

Known data

FacilityYonggwang WRI
CountrySouth Korea · Jeollanam-do WRI
Coordinates35.419, 126.4286 WRI
FuelSolar WRI
MW installed capacity3 MW WRI source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerKorea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company WRI

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#202 of 216 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#11 of 17 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers0.32× · 9 MW median · 17 peers calculated
Homes-powered equivalent1,276 calculated
Climate12.9°C · HDD 2,464 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC4 · 45/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

CommissionedNot available not in dataset
TechnologyNot available not in dataset
GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset
CO₂ emissionsnot applicable not applicable

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Capacity provenance

The public capacity above is the current source-record value. A 2026 tracker candidate lists 9 MW for Yeonggwang II solar project, but it is not used as the public primary value until scope is verified (unit vs operating vs installed/project total).

Capacity claim grade: B_SCOPE_PARENT_COMPLEX - recommended action: build_parent_complex_model - confidence: not_comparable_without_scope. This follows a claim-based data model: value + scope + source + confidence, rather than silently overwriting records.

Data provenance

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000830998); fuel: WRI source-record fuel

In context: how this plant compares

At 3 MW, Yonggwang is below the median solar plant in South Korea (9 MW). Solar PV converts sunlight directly into electricity with no moving parts or fuel; output varies by time of day and weather, so it pairs with storage or flexible backup.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Capacity vs largest solar plants in South Korea

Yeongnam PV: 94 MW94Yeongnam PVYeongwol: 39 MW39YeongwolDong Yang: 24 MW24Dong YangGochang: 15 MW15GochangBoogeo-seom: 14 MW14Boogeo-seomLG Solar Taean PV: 12 MW12LG Solar T…Yeonggwang II: 11 MW11Yeonggwang…Asan Hyundai: 10 MW10Asan Hyund…

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This solar plant converts sunlight directly into electricity with photovoltaic panels. It sits in a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 35.4°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

12.9°Cannual mean temp
2,464heating degree-days (base 18°C)
624cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
107 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: 0 °CJF: 2 °CFM: 6 °CMA: 12 °CAM: 17 °CMJ: 21 °CJJ: 25 °CJA: 26 °CAS: 21 °CSO: 15 °CON: 8 °CND: 3 °CD26 °C

Heating degree-days here run 0% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 50/100 — this site sits in the mid third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Solar PV loses ~0.35%/°C above 25°C cell temperature — roughly 0.2% at warm-season highs here (estimate).

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C4 — High), with humidity / wetness the leading environmental stress.

C4ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
45/100environmental-severity index
25.5°Cseasonal temperature swing
23 kmdistance to coast

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #11 largest solar power plant of 17 in South Korea by capacity.

South Korea has 17 solar power plants in this dataset, together about 249 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 35.419, 126.4286 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Yonggwang?

Yonggwang is a 3 MW source-record solar power plant in Jeollanam-do, South Korea.

How many homes can Yonggwang power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 1,276 homes (estimated).

Who operates Yonggwang?

Yonggwang is operated by Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company.

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