ID: 1688
Presenting Author: Chai Won KWON
Session: 550 - (Re)building trust and transparency to navigate complex energy transitions
Status: pending
Local mistrust caused a 50% solar siting loss due to setback ordinances. ‘RE100 Village Project’ rebuilt trust via cooperatives and transparent profit-sharing, leading to the regulatory abolition.
This study analyzes the causal mechanism of collaborative governance that successfully overcomes the destructive adverse impact of excessive solar setback ordinances in South Korea. Since 2015, these regulations caused a loss of over 50% of potential solar siting area in non-metropolitan regions, posing a critical institutional barrier to energy transition. We argue this regulatory backlash stems not from objective harm (EMF/heavy metals found negligible) but from deep-seated local mistrust—the perception of 'exploitation and participation exclusion' by external developers—reflecting a failure in 'procedural justice'.
This paper employs Process Tracing to analyze the Gyeonggi 'RE100 Village' model. We identify two key transparency-based strategies that rebuilt local trust: (1) securing Economic Transparency by the local government operating community-owned solar projects on communal land, transparently sharing projected profits, and ensuring the real distribution of benefits; and (2) achieving Procedural Transparency by assigning the community cooperative project ownership, involving both the local government and developers.
With misunderstandings resolved and trust rebuilt, the local council proactively implemented the repeal of the setback distance ordinance to facilitate community-led projects. This study suggests that for a successful energy transition, a collaborative governance model that prioritizes transparency and trust-building as key institutional conditions for regulatory reform, in addition to cost-effectiveness analysis of regulations, is essential.
Dr. Chai Won KWON works at Ajou University, researching energy and digital "twin" transition. He actively leads the domestic RE100 initiative, focusing on decentralized green growth models.
Coauthor 1: Jeongseok Choi