Research simulating a solar tree farm within a coastal forest in South Korea found that solar tree structures could preserve 99% of forest cover when compared to a fixed solar farm built in the same area, without sacrificing power output.
September 9, 2025
Lior Kahana
A researcher from South Korea’s Korea Maritime Institute has found solar trees have the potential to generate the same power of a solar farm while reducing the loss of forest cover by up to 99%.
In the paper “Superior energy output of solar trees compared to flat fixed panels in coastal forest installations,” published in Scientific Reports, researcher Dan-Bi Um writes that solar trees mimic natural tree morphology with solar panel arrays acting as branches and leaves. “The vertical design enables photovoltaic generation in the upper canopy while allowing sufficient light penetration to preserve the understory vegetation,” she explained.
In her study, Um used 3D geospatial data to simulate a solar tree plant in a coastal forest landscape located in South Korea’s Geoseong County based on pictures from 2012. A flat-fixed PV plant was built on the same site in 2014, covering an area of 22,856 m2, on a slope of up to 25º with a maximum elevation of 271 m. Based on Google Earth Pro satellite images of the plant from 2021, it features 4,347 solar panels, with each panel boasting a capacity of 230 W under standard test conditions for a total capacity of 1,000 kW.
Um utilized Google Earth Pro satellite images of the area dating from before the construction of the flat PV site to create a photomontage of solar trees on the site using Adobe Photoshop and 3D terrain modeling. The research paper says a photomontage is “a widely accepted method in academic and professional contexts for visualizing proposed landscape modifications, particularly in the fields of environmental planning and design.”
Solar trees simulated in the photomontage were based on the size of a solar tree installed outside the National Assembly Building in Seoul in 2017 by Hanwha Q CELLS Korea. Standing at 4.8 m by 4.1 m, the solar tree has branches capable of holding 35 solar panels of 330 W each, equal to a capacity of 11.5 kW per tree. The study also considered similar trees with more advanced 450 W panels, for a total capacity of 15.8 kW per tree.
In the photomontage, the solar trees were inserted along the study area boundary and on a hiking trail in the center of the study area. A spacing interval of one tree per 20 m was adopted, which allowed the installation of 97 trees across the same area.
The study found that 87 solar trees would be needed to reach the target 1 MW when using solar trees with 300 W panels. When using trees holding 450 W panels, 63 trees would do the job.
The research paper says linear arrangements of solar tree structures can preserve 99% of forest cover, while conventional fixed panel installations require eliminating 98% of forest cover to achieve equivalent power generation capacity. “Although our study centers in South Korea, the methodology has broad applicability for other nations looking to expand renewable energy while preserving forest ecosystems,” the research paper adds.
In 2022, another research team from the Korea Maritime Institute proposed the use of solar trees to build photovoltaic plants in mountainous forest areas in land-scarce South Korea. It defined the new concept as forest-photovoltaic and explained that it would both maintain carbon absorption activities under the solar trees and produce solar power on the upper part of forest land.
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