Seoul City Selects Sites for Thermal Energy Supply
Jamsil MICE Project & Seongsu K-PROJECT
Up to 19,000 RT Supplied per Hour
‘Suyeol Energy’ will be introduced to the new Jamsil MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions) complex to be built on the site of Jamsil Sports Complex and the mixed-use development project on the Seongsu-dong E-Mart site. It is expected to save about 40% more energy compared to the existing heating and cooling methods.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 4th that it has finally selected two private sites to supply renewable energy, Suyeol Energy, by utilizing the “gravity pipeline” that sends raw Han River water from the intake station to the water purification center: the “Jamsil Sports & MICE Complex Private Investment Project” and the “Seongsu-dong K-PROJECT Mixed-Use Development Construction.”
After calling for applicants in May, the city selected the final suppliers through a qualitative evaluation by a review committee, considering factors such as the distance from the gravity pipeline and heating and cooling capacity. For the selected projects, Seoul will prioritize supplying raw water from the gravity pipeline as a heat source for Suyeol Energy. Installation costs will be borne by the project operators.
Suyeol Energy utilizes thermal energy stored in water for building heating and cooling. Since the water temperature is lower than the air temperature in summer and higher in winter, it is used for cooling and heating respectively through heat pumps.
The selected Jamsil project will receive up to 16,000 RT (refrigeration tons) per hour, and the Seongsu project up to 3,000 RT per hour of Suyeol Energy. The combined 19,000 RT corresponds to about 66.7 MW capacity, enough thermal energy to heat and cool an area 1.3 times the size of Lotte World Tower (550,000㎡).
The city explained that supplying 19,000 RT of Suyeol Energy can save about 40% of energy compared to the conventional heating and cooling method that installs cooling towers outside large buildings. It also reduces annual greenhouse gas emissions by 6,600 tCO₂eq, equivalent to planting 47,000 pine trees.
Next year, there will be another call for applications for Suyeol Energy supply sites. Through this, the city plans to additionally supply the remaining 23,700 RT available from three intake stations: Pungnap, Jayang, and Gangbuk.
Han Young-hee, head of the Seoul Arisu Headquarters, said, “With the selection of Suyeol Energy supply sites this time, the spread of eco-friendly Suyeol Energy has begun in earnest. We will expand the supply of Suyeol Energy using the water supply infrastructure owned by the city to promote the distribution of renewable thermal energy in Seoul and contribute to responding to the climate crisis.”
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