Korea Energy Agency and Seoul City Sign MOU to Establish Green New Deal Ecosystem

"Building Energy Consumption Innovation, New Energy Industry, Activation of Renewable Energy"

The second from the left is Kim Changseop, President of the Korea Energy Agency. / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Korea Energy Agency announced on the 1st that it has signed a 'Green New Deal Ecosystem Creation Memorandum of Understanding' with the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The agreement includes ▲ introduction and expansion of zero-energy buildings such as newly constructed public buildings ▲ strengthening management of energy-intensive buildings ▲ improving energy use efficiency of existing buildings ▲ participation in the operation of Seoul's solar power demonstration complex and expansion of renewable energy supply ▲ fostering related industries such as support for new energy industries.

Going forward, the two organizations plan to actively cooperate in improving building energy use efficiency such as 'expanding zero-energy buildings,' expanding renewable energy supply centered on local communities, and creating green jobs, the agency said. The goal is to create a successful model of an 'urban-type Green New Deal.'

The agency will support 'zero-energy building consulting' including providing certification guidelines for zero-energy buildings from the construction process, economic analysis, and calculation of optimal construction costs for public buildings newly constructed by Seoul. Based on this, the city plans to expand zero-energy buildings to the private sector.

In addition, the agency will propose energy facility efficiency improvement measures such as conducting energy diagnostics to improve the energy performance of Seoul's aging apartment complexes.

To improve energy efficiency in the building sector, which accounts for about 70% of the city's greenhouse gas emissions, support will be provided to improve energy source units (energy consumption per unit floor area of buildings) of energy-intensive buildings such as department stores and hospitals.

Furthermore, the agency and the city will jointly promote the 'Magok Smart Energy City Development Project' and cooperate in fostering new energy industries.

A pilot project for resident demand response (DR) will also be promoted. The resident DR project is a business that sends 'DR mission' notifications using an application (app) and encourages participation in the mission. For example, it is a representative 'resident-participatory energy service' that requests residents to reduce energy consumption during specific time periods.

Kim Changseop, Director of the agency, said, "Seoul has attracted global attention by actively promoting energy policies such as the City of the Sun project," adding, "Based on this successful experience, we will be able to achieve an economic paradigm shift through urban-type Green New Deal policies."

He added, "Based on this cooperation with Seoul, we will take the lead in Green New Deal cooperation with other local governments in the future."

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