Kepco to build energy-self-sufficient city with Samsung, LG

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will take part in building an energy-self-sufficient city in the southern part of Korea in collaboration with the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco).

Cheong Seung-il, center left, Kepco CEO, and Naju Mayor Yoon Byung-tae, center right, pose for a photo with representatives from Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Hyundai Engineering, Kia and six other organizations and companies during a networking seminar held at Kepco headquarters in Naju, South Jeolla, on Tuesday. [KEPCO]

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics will take part in building an energy-self-sufficient city in the southern part of Korea in collaboration with the Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco).

Kepco, the state-run utility provider, said on Wednesday that it agreed to collaborate with the city government of Naju in South Jeolla Province as well as 10 companies and organizations to establish a renewable-powered microgrid system in the southwestern city.

Kepco is headquartered in Naju.

A microgrid is a self-sufficient energy system that uses a renewable energy generator and batteries for energy storage.

The “Energy Valley MG” project, as Kepco named it, aims to establish a range of energy infrastructure centered around the Energy Valley industrial complex in Naju. The project will serve as a testbed for next-generation energy technologies.

The participants of the project include Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Kia, Hyundai Engineering, Korea Institute of Energy Technology and more.

They will collaboratively work on developing renewable energy generators, improving the efficiency of the energy supply system as well as establishing a regulatory sandbox and a testbed for new technologies.

Samsung Electronics will participate in a pilot project to provide a demand response service with its SmartThings device control app.

A demand response service notifies households during peak electricity hours to recommend saving energy and provides incentives when each household saves more than a certain amount of electricity.

The Naju city government will select 2,000 households in the region. The selected local residents will be able to manage and monitor their power consumption through Samsung Electronics’ SmartThings app, which can automatically reduce electricity consumption during peak hours.

LG Electronics will also provide an automated demand response service with its ThinQ app for some households at an apartment complex in the city.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]