Seocho-gu Selected as Finalist for 'Local New Energy Business Activation Support Project'

Seocho-gu Smart Energy City Construction Project Selected as Final Winner in Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy Competition... Total Project Cost 4 Billion KRW, Consortium Formed by Seocho-gu, Korea East-West Power, and Synergy

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seocho-gu (Mayor Eunhee Cho) announced that the 'Seocho-gu Smart Energy City Construction' project was finally selected in the '2020 Regional New Energy Industry Activation Support Project' competition hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The 'Regional New Energy Industry Activation Support Project' is a project aimed at discovering new energy industry business models tailored to regional characteristics to foster the new energy industry market and promote industrial activation.

The Seocho-gu Smart Energy City Construction project is being promoted by a consortium consisting of the district, Korea East-West Power, and Synergy. Of the total project cost of 4 billion KRW, the government and Seocho-gu each bear about 950 million KRW, and the remaining costs are borne by Korea East-West Power.

This project participates in the new energy market by utilizing solar power generation facilities in public facilities within the region (dong community centers, sports centers, welfare facilities, etc.) and contributes to enhancing the utilization of renewable energy and stabilizing power supply and demand by installing ESS (Energy Storage Systems).

In addition, it optimally manages and efficiently controls power-intensive devices such as heating and cooling systems, lighting, and outlets to maximize energy-saving effects.

After analyzing the power patterns of 20 project sites including the district office, dong community centers, and welfare facilities, the district estimated that applying the 'Total Energy Saving Solution' would reduce annual energy usage costs by about 500 million KRW and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 900 tons.

Korea East-West Power's self-developed 'Total Energy Saving Solution,' the first of its kind nationwide, is a system utilizing converged and complex energy technologies such as Virtual Power Plant (VPP), voltage optimization, distributed resources, and Demand Response (DR).

With this system, Seocho-gu, which has high electricity consumption, is expected to transform into an eco-friendly smart energy city based on intelligent energy consumption.

To promote this project, in June last year, the district signed a business agreement with Korea East-West Power for the application of new energy industries in local governments, including energy efficiency improvement and eco-friendly energy supply, regarding the Seocho-gu Smart Energy City Construction project.

The district plans to sign business agreements with Korea East-West Power, Synergy, and others by early April this year, start this project, and establish the Seocho-gu Smart Energy City by the end of this year.

Mayor Eunhee Cho said, "This project will be the cornerstone for Seocho-gu to be established as a smart energy city, and we will further expand eco-friendly energy projects in the future."