태양광 발전시설 설치허가에 관한 법제 및 판례의 동향

In recent years, local governments that have the authority to permit both electric utility and development activities necessary for the installation of solar power generation facilities have strengthened the standards for the permit through municipal ordinance due to civil complaints for objection, taken a passive attitude toward permits with a stricter interpretation and application of the standards. As a result, there are increasing cases of business owners filing administrative litigation against the heads of local government. Recently, the Supreme Court has decided on several rulings in related cases. The Court considers the nature of the two permits to be discretionary and, in particular, tends to ease judicial review by widely respecting the administrative agency’s predictive judgment regarding the permits that may cause environmental damage. Furthermore, because the wide-ranging discretion of the head of a local government as a license granter is recognized in defining details of the standards as ordinances, and the scope for legislation is recognized to a greater extent in areas where environmental interests must be considered, it was determined that the ordinance that set a limit on distance was not illegal, in contrast to the precedents from lower courts. Because it is difficult for the administrative agency to specifically prove concerns about environmental damage caused by development activities and thus may not be able to prevent the infringement of residents' environmental interests in a timely manner, the attitude of the precedent that broadly respects the judgment of local governments and their legislative discretion on permission is reasonable. Currently, the wide-ranging discretion given to local governments is problematic because it tends to focus only on the negative effects of solar power and civil complaints and thus works only in the direction of constraining installations without any obvious grounds. In order to expand solar power, the role of local governments is critical. Reasonable regulation standards that reflect the characteristics of solar power, conditions and characteristics of local environment are necessary and the government must provide reliable standards through continuous research and monitoring in areas that are difficult for local governments to independently review. In the long term, it can be possible to minimize related social conflicts by increasing the participation of residents in the decision-making process of solar energy projects and enhancing resident acceptance so that profits can be shared with the region.