South Korea launches final 1 GW solar tender before scrapping its renewable quota system
South Korea’s climate ministry opened a 1 GW solar tender with a KRW 147,686 per MWh ceiling and premiums for low-carbon modules, the last under the RPS.
Photo by Mark Stebnicki on Pexels
South Korea’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) has opened a tender for around 1 GW of new solar capacity, the last bidding round under the country’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) before the quota system is replaced by government-led capacity auctions. The South Korea solar tender awards fixed-price contracts and sets a price ceiling of KRW 147,686 ($99.46) per MWh, pv magazine reported on July 17, 2026.
The ceiling sits about 5% below last year’s level. The tender keeps a pricing bonus for modules with a low manufacturing carbon footprint: a premium of KRW 16 per kWh for grade 1 modules and KRW 7 per kWh for grade 2, according to the announcement. The MCEE and the Korea Energy Agency planned an online briefing on the tender for July 21.
A note on units: pv magazine’s July 17 article states the ceiling as KRW 147,686 per kWh, but its own May 28, 2026 coverage gives the 2025 ceiling as KRW 155,742 ($103.33) per MWh and the 2024 ceiling as KRW 157,307 per MWh. The 2026 figure is 5.2% below the 2025 figure only on a per-MWh basis, matching the reported 5% drop, so the ceiling is stated here per MWh.
| Tender element | Figure |
|---|---|
| Capacity offered | About 1 GW |
| Price ceiling | KRW 147,686 ($99.46) per MWh |
| Change vs 2025 ceiling (KRW 155,742 per MWh) | -5.2% |
| Premium, grade 1 low-carbon modules | KRW 16 per kWh (up KRW 4 vs last year) |
| Premium, grade 2 low-carbon modules | KRW 7 per kWh (down KRW 2 vs last year) |
| Solar selected under fixed-price bidding since 2017 | 10,638 MW |
| Online briefing (MCEE and Korea Energy Agency) | July 21, 2026 |
Source: MCEE announcement as reported by pv magazine, July 17, 2026 and May 28, 2026.
The low-carbon premiums tie payments to the emissions embedded in module manufacturing, a mechanism that favours producers who can document a smaller carbon footprint across the supply chain. The grade 1 premium rose by KRW 4 per kWh from last year’s tender, while the grade 2 premium fell by KRW 2, steepening the incentive gap between the two grades.
What the South Korea solar tender means for the RPS phase-out
The tender closes out a fixed-price bidding scheme that has run since 2017 and has selected some 10.6 GW of solar capacity, according to Korea Energy Agency figures cited by pv magazine’s May 2026 coverage. The RPS itself dates to January 2012, when it replaced South Korea’s feed-in tariff and obliged large power generators to source a minimum share of their output from renewables, tradeable through renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Under the reform now moving through the National Assembly, new renewable projects are to enter the market only through government-led auctions from 2027, with the REC spot market closed to new entrants from 2027 and abolished by 2029. Independent outlet Energy-Box also reported the tender’s focus on low-carbon modules.
South Korea’s cumulative solar capacity reached 30,346 MW at the end of 2025, after adding around 3.6 GW during the year, according to the IRENA “Renewable capacity statistics 2026” report. Global context for those figures appears in IRENA’s finding that renewable energy capacity hit 5,149 GW in 2025.
Background
South Korea introduced the RPS in January 2012 as its main renewable support scheme, obliging around 25 large generators to meet rising renewable quotas. The fixed-price contract tenders, administered with the Korea Energy Agency since 2017, became the main route to market for utility-scale solar, selecting 10,638 MW out of 14,810 MW announced. The 11th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand, confirmed in February 2025, targets 77.2 GW of solar and 121.9 GW of total renewable capacity by 2038, against roughly 30 GW of solar installed at the end of 2025. The current 1 GW tender is the bridge between those regimes: the final RPS-era bidding round before capacity-based government auctions take over from 2027.
Sources: pv magazine Global; pv magazine Global; Energy-Box; IRENA
Featured image: photo by Mark Stebnicki on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
