On September 18, 2026, the amended Renewable Energy Act, which places an upper limit on separation distance regulations for solar power plants, came into effect. Coinciding with this period, Attorney Sungwoo Kim of Law Firm Solaris contributed a column to the media covering legal disputes and response measures that may arise during solar power construction contracting.

The amended law abolishes road separation distances and limits residential area separation distances to a maximum of 200m. However, local governments' discretionary decision-making areas, such as landscape review in the licensing process, still remain. Attorney Sungwoo Kim advises that for contractors not to bear all the uncertainties of licensing, the acquisition of licenses must be specified in the contract as a prerequisite for commencing construction. Furthermore, he emphasized the need to establish provisions that recognize additional construction costs and construction period extensions in the event of design changes during the re-application process.

Law Firm Solaris will continue to prevent legal disputes faced by businesses in the fields of energy and environmental regulation and persistently provide effective legal advice.

-Link to original article: Implementation of the Separation Distance Regulation Upper Limit and Solar Power Plant Construction Contracts (Refer to page 28 of the main text)

-Introduction of Attorney Sungwoo Kim: https://solarislaw.net/member-coo

Solar Power Plant EPC Contracts: Key Considerations Following the Relaxation of Setback Regulations

On September 18, 2026, the amended Renewable Energy Act went into effect, establishing upper limits on separation distance regulations for solar power plants. In light of this development, Attorney Sungwoo Kim of SOLARIS contributed a column addressing the legal issues and response strategies concerning solar power plant construction contracts.

The amended law abolishes separation distances from roads and limits the separation distance from residential areas to a maximum of 200 meters. However, local governments still retain discretionary power in areas such as landscape reviews during the permitting process. Attorney Kim advises that to avoid bearing all the uncertainties of the permitting process, contractors must specify in the contract that obtaining permits is a prerequisite for commencing construction. He also emphasized the need to include clauses that allow for additional construction costs and timeline extensions if designs change during the reapplication process.

SOLARIS will continue to prevent legal disputes for operators in the energy and environmental regulation sectors and provide practical legal advisory services.