Chairman Cho Young-tak of Korea Power Exchange (KPX).

The portion of renewable energies such as photovoltaic power and wind power is on the rise in the wake of the government’s energy paradigm shift. Korea Power Exchange (KPX) created regulations on the power grid for renewable energies in order to stabilize the operation of such eco-friendly energies.

KPX said it is essential to ensure the sable operation of power grids to continue the expansion of eco-friendly renewable energies. Now is the time to solve problems such as the securing of real-time information on renewal energies in a wise fashion, KPX said.

On April 29, KPX revised and released new regulations for power grids related to renewable energies to simultaneously ensure the expansion of the acceptance of the renewal energy power grid and the stability of power supply.

The revision focuses on the monitoring of the output of renewable energies, which fluctuates heavily with weather changes. It is designed to ensure the stability of power supply by predicting the power generation of renewal energy sources using real-time information.

KPX devised ways of securing real-time information on the stable operation of the power grid and minimize the financial burden of businesses.

To this end, KPX plans to impose no additional telecom charges on the operators of facilities with a capacity of more than 1MW and less than 20MW. It will do so by using the internet network to provide information, while reducing the cost of installing data capturing equipment to 150,000 won to ease businesses’ financial burden.

Newly built wind power and photovoltaic power generators with a capacity of more than 1MW, connected with power transmission lines, are required to provide real-time information to KPX.

Power generation facilities, which have less than 1MW or have been already established, are not required to do so.

The revision stipulates guidelines on having new facilities with a capacity of more than 1MW outfitted with control performance function, but not calling for executing control directives.

But there is an exception for the Jeju area. Unlike areas other than Jeju, generators there see frequent supply shortages during daytime, requiring them to follow control directives.

Figures released by Korea Electric Power Corp. showed that the portion of wind power and photovoltaic power in Jeju accounts for 38.4 percent and 21.3 percent in terms of facility capacity and power generation capacity as of December 2019. The comparable figures for their on-land counterparts stand at 9.2 percent and 2.4 percent.

Newly installed wind power and photovoltaic power generators each with a capacity of more than 1MW, connected with power transmission lines, are required to be outfitted with control performance function.

A view of KPX headquarters in Naju, Jeollanam-do. (Photos: KPX)

KPX Supports Marketing of ‘May Cookies’ Produced by 6 Social Enterprises

KPX provided an opportunity to sell “May Cookies” to executives and staff in May, which were produced under a partnership withof six social enterprises in the Gwangju and Jeollanam-do areas.

May Cookies are the outcome of a collaboration among social enterprises in the confectionery and bakery field. Namu & Dal and five other social enterprises jointly produced May Cookies, and a social cooperative was responsible for logistics and marketing.

KPX attended a social economy bazaar last December and this past March.

In May, in a third such event, KTX held an event to support the marketing of social enterprises. KPX supported contactless selling of May Cookies and KPX executives and staff members bought about 160 boxes of May Cookies with part of their salaries.

Han Jin-yeon, head of KPX’s financing and management team, said KPX will not spare efforts to provide diverse support so that such social enterprises can grow into an axis of the regional economy in the Gwangju and Jeollanam-do areas.