LSIS Chairman Koo Ja-kyun. (Photos: LSIS)

Independent microgrids are the best alternative to cope with the explosive growth of electricity demand, and LSIS is going to take the lead in the global market by developing business models tailored to meet regional needs, LSIS Chairman Koo Ja-kyun said. Chairman Koo made the remarks in a keynote presentation at the Asia Clean Energy forum (ACEF) held at the Asian Development Bank headquarters in Manila. He stressed the continued expansion of microgrids as the company’s future growth engine.

On top of its own proprietary technologies in the power and automation fields, LSIS is now concentrating its capabilities on strengthening its presence in the global microgrid market, which shows signs of explosive growth with convergence smart solutions combining ICT.  The company has secured a full lineup of smart energy solutions, ranging from energy production to storage and efficient use, which include energy storage systems (ESS), energy management system (ESM), and photovoltaic power and other eco-friendly energies. 

In a deal signed last November, LSIS was selected to build an energy-independent smart campus at the Germantown Campus of Montgomery College in Maryland, Washington DC. The agreement calls for the injection of $3.3 million to convert six Montgomery College buildings into energy-saving smart buildings. LSIS will install photovoltaic power facilities and an energy storage system (ESS), which will store the electricity from the power generation facilities to supply it to the whole of the campus. KEPCO will be in charge of installing the Building Energy Management System (BEMS) at six campus buildings. If and when this smart campus system is in place, smart campus buildings will use the power from the photovoltaic power facilities, and there will be no unused electricity in vacant classroom thanks to smart concentric plugs and lightings, and the school will be powered by solar energy during the day and by stored energy at night. The smart campus is expected to reduce the school’s energy consumption by 15 to 20 percent annually.

Last October, LSIS was selected to implement an independent microgrid project in Singapore, setting a platform to tap the Asian MG market. LSIS has joined such global companies as GE-Alstom and Schneider to participate in a renewable energy-powered island project on Singapore’s southern island of Semakau.

The Singapore government has been pursuing the implementation of the Renewable Energy Integration Demonstrator (REID) project to install a renewable micorgrid to make Semakau energy-sufficient. 

The project calls for the selection of four companies to establish four separate microgird sectors and linking them into a single, small-scale power network. ERI, the lead manager of the project, GE-Alstom, France’s largest power company Engie-Schneider consortium has been selected as the successful bidders of three sectors. LSIS has been charged to establish the last sector. 

The Singapore government and ERI sponsored the Asia Clean Energy Summit that took place at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Marina Bay form Oct. 25 to 27. LSIS was the sole Asian MG company invited to the event and signed the deal. Under the agreement, LSIS will serve as the sole energy operator based on such smart energy technologies as energy management system, energy storage system, and photovoltaic power/wind power solutions. The Seoul-based energy solutions and electronic equipment maker will build a test-bed site for the commercial operation connecting other microgrid companies. 

LSIS’s large-scale solar project is progressing. The company was awarded the largest-ever photovoltaic power project with a power generation capacity of 39MW on a site covering about 1.08 million sq. meters in Hokkaido, Japan. LSIS Japan will guarantee responsible dedication and power efficiency, and it will be charged with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) as well as operation & maintenance (O&M). 

The value of the project stands at about 11.3 billion yen. It calls for the installation of 130,000 photovoltaic power modules and the building of 13.7MWh-class ESS. A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) has been signed to agree on the supplying of electricity to Hokkaido Electric Power for 40 yen per kWh for the next 20 years. The solar system is to be on-line this year. LSIS plans to make aggressive inroads into the global microgrid market by successfully implementing its ongoing projects in each country and seizing them as platforms for market entry.

A view of Semakau, a southern island of Singapore. LSIS has been selected as one of global companies which will implement a project to make the island an independent renewable energy powered one.