Gwangju City Launches Initiative to Realize Carbon-Neutral, Energy Self-Sufficient City

‘2030 Corporate RE100 Promotion Council’ Launched…13 Institutions and Companies Participate

On the afternoon of the 25th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, held a commemorative photo session after the launch ceremony of the 2030 Corporate RE100 Promotion Council for realizing an energy self-sufficient city in Gwangju, with 13 energy-related organizations and companies at the city hall's medium conference room. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City has joined hands with local energy-related organizations and companies to realize an energy self-sufficient city.

On the 25th, Gwangju held the launch ceremony of the ‘2030 Corporate RE100 Promotion Council’ in the city hall's medium conference room.

The ‘2030 Corporate RE100 Promotion Council’ includes five energy-related organizations such as Gwangju City, Korea Energy Agency, Korea Gas Safety Corporation, Marine Energy, and Suwan Energy, as well as eight companies including Maeil Dairies Gwangju Plant, OB Beer Gwangju Plant, Coca-Cola Beverage Gwangju Plant, Sebang Battery Gwangju Plant, Ilsin Textile Gwangju Plant, Gwangju Global Motors, NHN Corporation, and the Artificial Intelligence Industry Convergence Project Group.

RE100 is a program where companies or institutions convert 100% of the electricity they require to renewable energy. The global RE100 system is spreading worldwide, and Korea has been actively implementing the Korean-style RE100 (K-RE100) system, which anyone can participate in, since this year.

Earlier, in September last year, Gwangju held the ‘Gwangju-type AI-Green New Deal’ proclamation ceremony and announced plans to achieve ‘2030 Corporate RE100,’ where companies meet all their electricity needs with eco-friendly renewable energy by 2030, and ‘2035 Gwangju RE100,’ where all electricity used in Gwangju is supplied by renewable energy by 2035, ultimately realizing a ‘carbon-neutral energy self-sufficient city Gwangju’ by 2045.

Following this, 2021 was designated as the inaugural year for the Gwangju-type AI-Green New Deal project, and the ‘RE100 Promotion Council’ was formed.

Going forward, Gwangju plans to actively support the realization of the 2030 Corporate RE100 by leveraging the live field ideas and capabilities of companies participating in the ‘RE100 Promotion Council’ and to help establish the K-RE100 system.

Additionally, Gwangju City and energy-related organizations will establish and implement various RE100 support policies, including improvements to the RE100 system to encourage active corporate participation and address corporate difficulties and support measures. Companies will prepare in advance for K-RE100 implementation and share experiences based on field insights and issues identified during the process.

Moreover, the council will discuss installing renewable energy directly within factories or institutional buildings and various corporate RE100 implementation methods. It will also broadly consult on participation plans for KEPCO’s green premium electricity tariff system, which is being implemented for the first time this year, the REC (Renewable Energy Certificate) purchase system for companies to be established in the first half of the year, and the PPA system that allows purchasing electricity from renewable energy power plants.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “The Gwangju 2030 RE100 Promotion Council is a bold step of the Gwangju-type AI-Green New Deal to realize a carbon-zero energy self-sufficient city by 2045 and will serve as a catalyst for the early establishment of the Korean Green New Deal. Together with competitive institutions and companies with long-standing technology and know-how in the energy sector, we will make 2021 the inaugural year of ‘Gwangju, a carbon-neutral energy self-sufficient city by 2045.’”