Han Sang-moon, head of the New/Renewable Business Division at Korea Western Power Co. (KOWEPO), President Lee Tae-gyu of Myoung Shin, and President Lee Chan-jae of Blue Sigma gesture at a ceremony to sign on the construction of massive photovoltaic power facilities on the former General Motors site in Gunsan on Oct. 21. (Photos: KOWEPO)

Korea Western Power Co. (KOWEPO) is focusing on creating massive new/renewable energy complexes by minimizing environmental damage.

KOWEPO is adopting a strategy to make the most of the rooftops of industrial complexes, parking lots, bicycle lanes and waste dumps. In particular, for the construction of photovoltaic power modules, the power company is utilizing the existing structures and parking lots to max out idle sites rather than refraining from using forest sites that cause huge environmental damages.

One of KOWEPO’s representative new/renewable energy projects is the installation of a 13.3MW photovoltaic power facility at parking lots of the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, Jeollanam-do.

The photovoltaic power farm, whose size is equivalent to that of 30 soccer stadiums, is the biggest-ever such one installed in parking space. The photovoltaic power farm over a parking lot is not only solving difficulties in securing necessary sites, but also serving as a function of blocking sunlight in the interests of visitors.

KOWEPO is working on the construction of massive photovoltaic power facilities on the former General Motors site in Gunsan. The project, being implemented by the public and private sectors, calls for 27MW and 81MW energy storage system facilities. They will be located on plant rooftops and on parking lots.

To this end, an MOU has been signed. The project is expected to be the biggest–ever photovoltaic power facility installed in a single plant.

The project will create 900 direct jobs. It will also have an indirect effect of creating 7,500 jobs in related industries, thus greatly contributing to resurging the regional economy in Gunsan.

Starting the dedication of “Gunsan Hope Photovoltaic Power Plant No.1,” the power company has installed and transferred photovoltaic power modules on the rooftops of SME plants in Gunsan at its own cost of 1 billion won. In September, KOWEPO struck a deal with Seoul Energy Corp. and BJ Power on the installation of photovoltaic power panels on the rooftops of Lotte Mart outlets across the nation.

Under the agreement, 4.3MW solar panels will be installed on the parking lots of 20 Lott Mart outlets.

Dignitaries, including Kim Kyung-jae of the Technology Division at KOWEPO joins other notables in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate a plant to verify the production of hydrogen using thesis gases from the integrated coal gasification combined cycle plant of the Taean Power Complex and thermococcus onnurineus on Nov. 6.

KOWEPO Leads Hydrogen Economy

KOWEPO held a ceremony to dedicate a plant to verify the production of hydrogen on Nov. 6. About 10 organizations, including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) are participating in the project.

The facility is capable of producing 330 tons annually or 1 ton per day, which is equivalent to operating of 2,200 units annually. Thermococcus onnurineus (strain NA1) is a sulfur-reducing hyperthermophilic carboxydotrophic archaeum isolated from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent sediment.

The archaea cell has been extracted and cultivated by Korean scientists from KIOST aboard its research vessel “Onnuri” near Papua New Guinea in 2002.