Over 1,000 schools in Seoul will get solar panels installed on their roofs by 2014, under a campaign led by the municipal government, city education authority and a civic group.

Mayor Park Won-soon, Educational Superintendent Kwak No-hyun and representatives of a group called Seoul Citizens’ Solar Power Plant kicked off the campaign at a ceremony in Gwanghwamun, central Seoul, on Wednesday.
The movement aims to draw investment from ordinary citizens to build solar panels on schools and other public-purpose buildings in their area. The city will provide policy loans for up to 30 percent of the installation costs.

It aims to build solar panels on about 1,000 schools, with a combined capability of 100 megawatts. This year’s target is 200 schools, or 20 megawatts, city officials said.

Separately, the municipal government announced Wednesday a plan to introduce 10,000 electric cars by 2014 as part of its efforts to reduce air pollution.

With the introduction of green cars and other related measures, the city aims to lower its level of nitrogen dioxide, a key air pollutant, to 0.027 parts per million from the current 0.033 ppm, officials said. The country’s environmental standard is 0.03 ppm.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)