Local versus outsider developers: Impact on development duration and its’ implications for community acceptance of solar PV plants in South Korea

This study focused on community acceptance of small to medium solar PV plant projects in South Korea, which has rarely been the subject of research despite reports of disputes. It set out to determine whether there is a difference in community acceptance based on a project being developed by local residents or by outsiders. We used the duration of development for each plant as a proxy variable for the level of acceptance. We interpreted longer development duration as corresponding to a lower level of community acceptance when other characteristics of solar PV plants were controlled for. Analyses using a censored regression model indicated that the development duration was shorter (with statistical significance) when plants were developed by local residents rather than by outsiders. Further investigation revealed local resident involvement had more effect on reducing the development duration for plants exploiting forested land, the type for which community acceptance was known to be low. The effect was not evident when the plants were developed using existing buildings.