"Improving Energy Efficiency in Small and Medium Workplaces, Providing On-site Support"

Ground Energy Problem Solvers 'Energy Supporters' Launch Ceremony Held

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 15th that it plans to newly implement an energy efficiency improvement support project for small and medium-sized workplaces starting this year.

The Ministry and the Korea Energy Agency formed 'Energy Supporters' who will conduct energy efficiency consulting work on-site and held the 'Energy Supporters Launch Ceremony' on the same day.

The support targets small and medium-sized enterprises (small enterprises) and small business owners (buildings) using less than 2,000 TOE of energy annually. The Ministry described the project as "a project that supports high-efficiency equipment replacement along with energy efficiency consulting."

The consulting is conducted by supporters visiting the site directly to inspect the usage status of energy-consuming equipment, identify factors of energy waste and savings, and propose improvement plans.

Equipment replacement support is provided after consulting, where the Energy Agency supports part of the replacement cost only for workplaces that wish to participate.

For workplaces wishing to replace equipment based on the supporters' consulting, the Energy Agency plans to support up to 80% of the replacement cost (up to 50 million KRW) through a separate selection process.

The Ministry reported that 380 workplaces applied for participation following the recruitment announcement. It evaluated that there is high interest from many small and medium-sized workplaces.

After the Energy Agency selects the supported workplaces considering the support scale (about 200 sites), consulting and equipment replacement support will be sequentially conducted from the 25th (tentative).

An official from the Ministry said, "We hope that this project will encourage small and micro workplaces to take more interest in energy efficiency and actively participate in efficiency improvements," and added, "Next year, we plan to review expanding the project so that more small and medium-sized workplaces can participate."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.