30 September–2 October 2026 | Seoul, Republic of Korea
Co-organised by the Korea Energy Agency and REN21

Renewable energy deployment is accelerating around the world. But scaling renewables successfully depends on more than targets, capacity additions and technology costs. It also depends on people, land, trust and local value.

The KEA–REN21 International Event on Community Energy, Agrivoltaics and the Renewables-Based Economy will bring together Korean, Asian and international policymakers, local governments, community representatives, farmers, industry actors, civil society organisations, researchers and practitioners to explore how renewables can be deployed with and for communities.

At a time of growing energy security concerns, rising electricity demand, land-use pressures and public acceptance challenges, the event will focus on practical models that help renewables create local value, support economic development and generate income for host communities.

• Generate practical policy and implementation lessons on energy communities and agrivoltaics.
• Strengthen connections between Korean, Asian and international actors.
• Showcase Korean approaches with relevance beyond Korea.
• Bring international examples into the Korean debate.
• Identify approaches that can help move community energy and agrivoltaics from individual projects to implementation at scale.

• Inform event outcomes, case studies and reusable knowledge and communication materials for Korea, Asia and beyond.

Register here!

The discussions will be anchored in the renewables-based economy framework. This means looking beyond renewable energy deployment alone, and exploring how renewables can support energy security, resilience, industrial development, local prosperity, rural income, social trust and equitable implementation.

The event will connect two closely related areas:

• Track 1: Energy Communities

Community energy covers a wide range of approaches, from community ownership and cooperatives to benefit-sharing arrangements, renewable energy villages and local investment models.

Sessions will explore how communities can participate in decision making and ownership from planning to implementation, including financing models and enabling regulatory conditions. The focus will be on how renewable energy can strengthen local development while supporting national energy security and retaining value within communities.

• Track 2: Agrivoltaics

Agrivoltaics combines solar electricity generation and agricultural production on the same land. It offers a practical response to land-use pressure, competing land priorities and the need to protect rural livelihoods while expanding renewable energy.

Sessions will cover legal and institutional frameworks, technical and demonstration experience, farmer participation and pathways for scaling. Korean developments will be discussed alongside experience from Europe, Asia and other regions.

The discussions will consider agrivoltaics as a systems solution connecting renewable electricity, food production, rural income, land-use planning, climate adaptation and local economic development.

Further details on the programme, speakers and venue will be shared soon.

REN21 is the only global community of renewable energy actors from science, academia, governments, non-governmental organisations and industry. REN21 provides up-to-date and peer-reviewed facts, figures and analysis of global developments in technology, policies and markets, with the aim of making renewables the obvious choice.

Through its work on the renewables-based economy, REN21 connects evidence, people and decisions to show how renewable energy can support prosperity, resilience, equity and sustainable development across sectors and regions.

The Korea Energy Agency is Korea’s public institution supporting energy efficiency, renewable energy deployment and the country’s energy transition. For this event, KEA brings domestic convening power, policy expertise and direct links to Korean renewable energy implementation experience.