Gwangju City-Kepco-Jeonnam Province Sign Energy Valley Investment Agreement with 36 Companies

Investment by 13 Companies Including SED Co., Ltd. and Isak Engineering Co., Ltd.

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City, Jeonnam Province, and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed energy valley investment agreements with 36 companies in the second half of this year.

According to Gwangju City on the 25th, the Energy Valley development project, jointly promoted by Gwangju City, Jeonnam Province, and KEPCO since 2015, is a project to foster a global smart energy hub by attracting companies and research institutes in the new energy industry sector to four nearby industrial complexes: the Gwangju-Jeonnam Joint Innovation City, Gwangju Urban High-tech National Industrial Complex, and Energy Valley General Industrial Complex.

Thirteen companies investing in the Gwangju area include SED Co., Ltd., a smart plug manufacturer; Isak Engineering Co., Ltd., a solar heat storage tank manufacturer; and KN Tech Co., Ltd., a high-efficiency lighting R&D company. There are 12 companies in Jeonnam and 11 in Naju.

The total investment scale amounts to 123.5 billion KRW, and it is expected that about 530 jobs will be created once the investment is made.

Since 2015, Gwangju City, Jeollanam-do, and KEPCO have attracted a total of 501 companies, exceeding the goal of attracting 500 companies by 2020.

Gwangju City is promoting a Green New Deal policy to transform into a carbon-neutral energy self-sufficient city by 2045 to foster the energy industry, and has attracted the Green Energy ESS (Energy Storage System) power generation regulatory free zone.

In addition, the Gwangju Green Energy ESS power generation regulatory free zone is conducting a pilot project to sell renewable energy production power to electric vehicle charging stations or public buildings for the first time nationwide.

Joo Jae-hee, head of the city's investment attraction division, said, “We will do our best to support energy companies that have decided to invest in Gwangju City to settle early in our region and grow into solid companies with global competitiveness.”