Gwangju City Accelerates Efforts to Become a Carbon-Neutral, Energy Self-Sufficient City

Appointment to Green Energy Technology Subcommittee... Participation of Experts from Research Institutes and Others

On the morning of the 12th, Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended the 2045 Energy Self-Reliant City Technical Subcommittee meeting held in the small conference room at City Hall, presented appointment letters to the committee members, and took a commemorative photo. Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City is accelerating the realization of the vision of a ‘2045 Carbon Neutral Energy Self-Reliant City.’

On the 12th, Mayor Lee Yong-seop presented appointment letters to 10 members of the ‘Green Energy Technology Subcommittee’ at City Hall.

The Technology Subcommittee consists of a total of 10 members: 2 representatives from energy companies, 7 members from energy research institutions including the Gwangju branch of the Korea Electric Research Institute, and 1 member from Gwangju City. Lee Soon-hyung, CEO of Seongang Engineering Co., Ltd., serves as the chairman.

Lee Soon-hyung, CEO of Seongang Engineering Co., Ltd., is a leading CEO of a major domestic small and medium enterprise who has pioneered the electrical design field for about 30 years since 1986. He has served as chairman of the Energy New Materials Technology Subcommittee of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Regional Federation of the Korea Federation of Science and Technology Societies and as an advisory member of the National Photovoltaic Power Association.

Going forward, the Technology Subcommittee will prepare technical support measures and implement the vision to achieve the goals of ‘Gwangju-type AI-Green New Deal’ announced on the 21st of last month, including ‘Gwangju RE100 by 2035’ and the realization of an ‘Energy Self-Reliant City by 2045.’

Gwangju City expects the Technology Subcommittee to achieve convergence of advanced energy technologies centered on the recently completed Gwangju branch of the Korea Electric Research Institute, along with principal researchers from seven energy research institutions including Gwangju Technopark, Korea Energy Technology Evaluation Institute, Korea Institute of Industrial Technology, Korea Automotive Technology Institute, Korea Electronics Technology Institute, and Korea Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute.

In particular, since solar business companies and energy big data platform companies participate in the Technology Subcommittee, it will provide technical support to promptly implement measures to create an ‘Energy Self-Reliant City Gwangju’ by demonstrating cutting-edge technologies such as renewable energy dissemination, energy storage systems (ESS), distributed power grids, electric vehicles, hydrogen energy, and energy artificial intelligence analysis systems using the Internet of Things (IoT), and by discovering business models.

Following the appointment ceremony, Chairman Lee Soon-hyung presented the future operation direction of the subcommittee and technical support plans for achieving ‘Gwangju RE100 by 2035’ and realizing an ‘Energy Self-Reliant City by 2045.’

Chairman Lee explained plans to announce detailed execution plans by sector that can produce visible results of the ‘Gwangju-type AI-Green New Deal Vision’ by next year, and technical support plans for 11 short-term projects including renewable energy pilot villages and 4 mid- to long-term projects such as V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid) in the transportation sector.

Furthermore, to promote the execution capability of the energy self-reliant city, discussions will continue on technology development, dissemination, demand management (National DR), and efficiency improvements suitable for metropolitan urban areas not only for solar energy and fuel cells but also for urban wind power, geothermal, small hydropower, and piezoelectric power generation.

Mayor Lee Yong-seop said, “The global energy industry ecosystem is rapidly transforming,” and added, “I ask the Technology Subcommittee to play a role so that Gwangju can lead energy transition technologies, achieve energy self-reliance, and become a global green leading city that leads the post-COVID-19 era.”

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