[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Korea Western Power will begin construction of its second solar power plant in Australia in the second half of this year. The goal is to reduce the proportion of coal power generation and strengthen renewable energy generation to achieve annual sales of approximately 1 trillion KRW through overseas projects by 2035.
According to the energy industry on the 11th, Western Power will start construction in October this year of a 75MW (megawatt) solar power plant in Wodonga, located northeast of Melbourne, Australia. This will be the first Korean-style solar power plant that procures all major equipment necessary for construction, such as solar modules and trackers, from domestic products. The estimated export effect of the equipment alone is about 31 billion KRW.
Western Power plans to manage and operate the solar power plant through equity investment and secure revenue from electricity sales generated. The grid permit approval is currently pending. For this project, the company signed a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) in 2020 with the Korea Infrastructure New Deal (KIND), S-Energy, and Wodonga Solar Power (WSP) and has been preparing the project.
The reason the company is focusing on overseas renewable energy power generation projects is because it is designing a profit portfolio under the ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) management paradigm with the goal of 'KOWEPO Vision 2035.' To this end, it also constructed a 110MW solar power plant in Bannerton, Victoria, Australia in 2018. Western Power holds a 6% stake in this project, securing stable profits until 2050.
Additionally, the Adams Wind Power Plant project in Finland (73.2MW), which began commercial operation in 2015, is also considered a successful overseas project for Western Power. The Finnish wind power plant project was Western Power’s first entry into an advanced renewable energy market and is located near Oulu, about 667 km north of Helsinki. The company secured a 29.5% stake in June 2020 and generates an annual net profit of about 2 billion KRW.
Western Power aims to record annual sales of 900 billion KRW from overseas projects by 2035. It plans to expand its core businesses to include hydrogen co-firing power generation performance improvement, green hydrogen, and ammonia production. Furthermore, it intends to explore development opportunities in developing countries in South America, Africa, and Asia to meet global energy demand.
A Western Power official said, "We will closely monitor and accurately forecast the global energy supply situation and implement precise strategies considering the energy industry growth rates and policy characteristics by continent and country. We will strengthen the capabilities of overseas project specialists to support this."
A bird's-eye view of the 75MW (megawatt) solar power plant located in Wodonga, northeast of Melbourne, Australia, promoted by Western Power.
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