Industrial electricity rates have surged nearly 70% over the past three years. Global corporations' carbon neutrality policies are simultaneously pressuring domestic suppliers to increase renewable energy usage. For Korean export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises, the transition to renewable energy has become a matter of survival.
The problem is cost. According to data released by the Korea Enterprises Federation citing the RE100 2024 Annual Report, 70 of the 183 Korean companies enrolled in RE100 are struggling to procure renewable energy. These companies cited "high procurement costs" (51.4%) as their biggest challenge.
Rooftop solar is now gaining attention as a practical solution to this dilemma. The technology is spreading rapidly because it utilizes existing buildings without requiring separate land and faces fewer permitting hurdles.
According to the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, building rooftops accounted for 58.4% (2,193MW) of new solar installations (3,753MW) in 2025. This contrasts sharply with 2017, when mountainous areas represented 40% of installations. Grid saturation is driving rooftop solar expansion. The existing transmission and distribution network was designed around large-scale power plants and has physical limitations in accommodating renewable energy sources distributed nationwide.
Institutional frameworks have been established to address these issues. The "Special Act on Distributed Energy Promotion," implemented in June 2024, codified the concept of "local production, local consumption." The law is regarded as a solution to reduce both social conflicts arising from long-distance transmission line construction and power losses. Rooftop solar is considered the most suitable model for the government's distributed energy vision because electricity can be consumed immediately where it is produced.
The Ministry of Climate is pursuing plans to expand solar deployment in industrial complexes to 20GW. This explains why idle rooftop space is being reassessed as an energy asset that can simultaneously address RE100 compliance and electricity cost reduction.
Renewable energy adoption methods vary according to companies' capital strength and organizational scale. Samsung Electronics built a self-generation system by installing solar panels directly on rooftops and parking lots at its Suwon, Giheung, Hwaseong, and Pyeongtaek facilities. Leveraging its financial resources and dedicated personnel, the company is addressing RE100 requirements through direct PPA contracts and purchases of KEPCO's green premium.
In contrast, most SMEs are hindered by initial investment costs and maintenance burdens spanning more than 20 years. The reality is that many lack dedicated staff even to calculate carbon emissions. External specialized platforms have emerged as a practical alternative. Companies simply lease their rooftops while platform operators handle investment and operations. SMEs can achieve RE100 compliance and electricity cost savings simultaneously without financial burden.
H Energy, a renewable energy platform company, operates dual platforms tailored to different corporate situations. These include "SolarShare Baro," a B2B direct power purchasing platform targeting companies seeking to implement RE100 and reduce costs through direct electricity use, and "SolarShare," a rooftop leasing platform that generates rental income from idle rooftops.
Enlighten recently announced plans to expand rooftop solar installations utilizing idle rooftops at factories and logistics centers following a large-scale investment round. Haezoom is expanding customized renewable energy and RE100 solutions for businesses, including the completion of a 2.4MW on-site PPA solar power plant at Kolon Industries' Gumi factory that combines parking lots and factory rooftops.