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Sapsi Island

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations5
System facts11
Sources reviewed6
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Sapsi Island is Sapsi-do in Boryeong, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea. It was selected in 2015 for the private-sector Energy Independent Island (EII) program with Woojin Industrial Systems' consortium, but the best later academic assessment says the islands failed to secure power-purchase agreements and remained diesel dependent. The proposed Sapsi concept was a 1.6 MW solar-led hybrid targeting 83% renewables alongside an existing 900 kW internal-combustion plant; no credible evidence of construction or commissioning was found through July 2026.

Research status
Selected/planned in July 2015, but not demonstrated as built. A 2022 peer-reviewed program review reports that only the Ulleung consortium reached a PPA and that the EII island projects, including Sapsi, achieved little and still relied on diesel. No later PPA, EPC award, interconnection, commissioning, operating data or formal cancellation notice was located. The defensible status is stalled/not implemented as last authoritatively assessed—not operational and not necessarily formally cancelled.
Historical classification
Island
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
36.33730, 126.35250
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Sapsi Island?

5 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

Boryeong City / Sapsi-do community

Host jurisdiction/community; a current island profile reports 230 households and 373 residents, but does not document a renewable power project. [5]

Organization

Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO)

Serving utility/prospective power purchaser in the EII model; later research says Sapsi did not achieve a PPA. [4]

Organization

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE)

National sponsor of the Energy Independent Island program and selection process. [2]

Organization

WOOJIN Ind

Publicly named participant; role not specified in the recovered record [1]

Organization

Woojin Industrial Systems consortium

Private operator/developer selected for Sapsi under the 2015 EII competition; selection did not mature into evidenced construction. [2][3]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

Proposed solar
1.6 MW PV in the later program review; this is a proposal, not installed capacity. [4]
Existing generation
900 kW internal-combustion/diesel plant reported for the island during program design. Its exact 2026 configuration and condition are unknown. [4]
Renewable target
83% renewable share proposed for the EII project. No achieved generation mix exists because construction/operation was not substantiated. [4]
Storage and wind
Storage/control integration was implicit in the EII hybrid concept, but no authoritative public source found supplies an ESS MW/MWh rating, battery vendor, wind capacity or as-built bill of materials for Sapsi. [2][4]
Community scale
A current cultural-program profile lists 230 households and 373 people; the 2022 technical review used a population below 500. Neither is an electrical customer or peak-load measurement. [5][4]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Proposed PV

Model not publicly disclosed

1.6 MW; manufacturer, EPC design and interconnection were never evidenced as finalized. [4]

02

Existing diesel/internal combustion

Model not publicly disclosed

900 kW reported at planning stage; unit count, maker/model, fuel consumption and present status are unknown. [4]

03

Proposed ESS/EMS

Model not publicly disclosed

No verified capacity, chemistry, controller or vendor data found; no equipment should be recorded as installed. [2][4]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Commercial blocker

    The EII business model required private developers to sell electricity under a PPA. The later review found no agreement for Sapsi, preventing the selected concept from advancing to a bankable operating project. [4]

  • Program outcome

    The five-island announcement was a developer selection, not a commissioning statement. Later evidence says the program delivered little and participating islands remained dependent on diesel. [2][4]

  • Current-data gap

    No project-specific post-2022 source confirms revival, cancellation or new renewable assets. The current island profile is useful for identity/demographics only and cannot establish energy status. [5][4]

Provenance

6 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2020-07-06

  2. [2]
  3. [3]
    South Korea's energy-independent island program

    The Asia-Pacific Journal · Secondary research

  4. [4]
    Review of Korea's Energy Independent Island projects

    International Journal of Smart Grid and Clean Energy · Primary source

  5. [5]
    Sapsi-do island profile

    Boryeong Island Biennale · Primary source

  6. [6]
    Sapsi Island microgrid project record

    Microgrid Projects · Archived source

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