[Let's Run Again K Construction] Hanwha Construction Division Leaps Forward as a 'Green Infrastructure Developer'

Expansion of Direct Wind Power Division
Successful Completion of Yeongyang and Jeju Su-mang
Diversification of Investment Portfolio
Enhanced Competitiveness in Hydrogen Energy Business

The Yeongyang Wind Power Plant completed by Hanwha Construction Division / Photo by Hanwha Construction Division

[Asia Economy Reporter Noh Kyung-jo] Hanwha Construction Division is making eco-friendly business its future core growth engine and accelerating its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management. Through eco-friendly energy businesses such as wind power generation and environmental projects like water treatment, it is determined to transform from a simple construction company into a domestic top-tier 'Green Infrastructure Developer.'

Two years ago, Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon emphasized in his New Year's address, "Indicators like ESG have long been established as core management principles of global companies," adding, "As a global leader in the renewable energy sector, we must actively respond to climate change and accelerate environmental management to lead the carbon-zero era."

Leap to Domestic Top-Tier Onshore and Offshore Wind Power Developer by 2030

Hanwha Construction Division has been continuously enhancing its competitiveness by expanding the Wind Power Business Office directly under the CEO and recruiting experts to strengthen the wind power generation business, which it has been promoting since 2013. Wind power projects require long-term investment as they take considerable time from site selection and wind resource surveys to actual construction.

As a result of these efforts, Hanwha Construction Division successfully completed the 76MW Yeongyang Wind Power Complex (22 units of 3.45MW each) and the 25MW Jeju Sumang Wind Power Complex (7 units of 3.6MW each) in 2020. In 2021, it began full-scale promotion of the 90MW Yangyang Suri Wind Power Complex and is also developing wind power projects in Yeongcheon and Yeongwol.

The company is also expanding its business into offshore wind power. It is leading the 400MW Shinan Uii Offshore Wind Power Project, which involves a total investment of over 2 trillion KRW, and has started wind resource surveys for multiple new offshore wind power complexes. In November last year, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Equinor, a Norwegian state-owned energy company, to jointly develop offshore wind power in Korea. Offshore wind power is a core sector of Korea's Green New Deal policy and is gradually increasing its share in the global renewable energy market.

Hanwha Construction Division is also diversifying its wind power portfolio by overseeing development, operation, and investment. It plans to solidify its position as a leading company by pioneering large-scale offshore wind projects, which are rare domestically and require high technical expertise. Based on this, it aims to develop wind power projects totaling over 2GW (2000MW) onshore and offshore by 2030 and expand into overseas markets, becoming a domestic top-tier wind power developer.

The water treatment sector, where Hanwha Construction Division has strengths, is also noteworthy. The company is enhancing its competitiveness through large-scale environmental convergence projects and continuous research and development (R&D).

In January last year, it signed a private investment agreement for the modernization of the Daejeon Sewage Treatment Plant with a total project cost of 721.4 billion KRW, demonstrating its capability to execute large-scale environmental projects. This is the largest private investment sewage treatment project in Korea and the first sewage treatment plant relocation project. The plant will be modernized and moved underground to fundamentally block odor generation, and various convenience facilities such as parks and sports facilities will be created above ground. The Cheonan Sewage Treatment Plant modernization project (total project cost about 200 billion KRW), won in 2019, is also progressing smoothly.

The source of Hanwha Construction Division's competitiveness in water treatment lies in various environmental new technologies and patented technologies, including the PRO-MBR advanced sewage treatment technology, which was developed in-house and certified as a new technology by the Ministry of Environment.

A company official said, "Environmental new technologies are applied not only to the modernization projects of the Daejeon and Cheonan sewage treatment plants but have also been verified for performance in numerous water treatment facilities constructed over the past several years," adding, "Based on our technological capabilities, we provide comprehensive solutions for the relocation, expansion, development, and operation of water treatment facilities that local governments are concerned about. Through large-scale environmental convergence development projects, we are changing the paradigm of environmental facilities."

The Jeju Sumang Wind Power Plant completed by Hanwha Construction Division / Photo by Hanwha Construction Division

Securing Competitiveness in Hydrogen Energy Business and Practicing ESG Management

Hanwha Construction Division also has competitiveness in the hydrogen energy business. In 2020, it completed the world's first and largest 'Daesan Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power Plant' using by-product hydrogen in the Daesan Industrial Complex, Chungnam. This power plant has a capacity of 50MW and produces 400,000 MWh of electricity annually, supplying power sufficient for about 160,000 households in the Chungnam region.

In 2021, it signed a joint development agreement to build the 'Ansan Banwol Hydrogen Production Plant,' the first in Korea to produce hydrogen from wastewater sludge. This eco-friendly project produces about 22,000 tons of hydrogen annually, along with carbon dioxide and steam, by gasifying sludge generated at the wastewater treatment plant in the Ansan Banwol Dyeing Complex. Since all carbon dioxide generated during the process is captured and sold, it also contributes to carbon neutrality. Additionally, last month, it signed a business agreement with Panasia, which possesses 100% domestic technology related to hydrogen purification and production, to produce hydrogen using biogas.

Among ESG management efforts, social contribution activities for corporate social responsibility are also noteworthy. The 'FORENA Library Construction Project,' which has been ongoing for 13 years, is a representative example. This project creates libraries by utilizing idle spaces in social welfare facilities, with employees continuously donating books to add value.

Employees share their talents as construction engineers by performing remodeling tasks such as dismantling existing spaces, interior construction, assembling built-in bookshelves, and painting to create the libraries. They also provide various books, desks, chairs, and other items. The FORENA libraries thus created offer a close and comfortable reading space for people with disabilities and marginalized groups and have become spaces where people with and without disabilities can come together and communicate.