Agrivoltaics — the practice of installing solar panels above cropland to simultaneously support agricultural activity and power generation — has gained attention as a way to supplement farm household income and advance Korea's energy transition. This issue brief examines a key regulatory barrier to the wider deployment of agrivoltaics in Korea.

The brief argues that the current eight-year cap on temporary non-agricultural use permission for farmland makes agrivoltaic projects financially unviable, as recovering the initial investment alone typically takes eight to ten years. It also shows that the short permission period leads to premature decommissioning of solar facilities, wasting resources and forgoing significant generation capacity.

The brief calls for extending the permission period to at least 20 years through either an amendment to the Farmland Act or the passage of pending agrivoltaics legislation, alongside broader support schemes to lower barriers to entry for farm households.