Energy Efficiency Up 16%, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Plummet

Smart Green Industrial Complex Transformation into Low-Carbon, High-Efficiency Eco-Friendly Complex
Creating Self-Sufficient Power Sites with Solar Power Installation
ESS Introduction in Changwon Industrial Complex Within the Year
Hydrogen Fuel Cell Power Plant Established in 2022

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daeseop] #The government is establishing a power self-sufficiency demonstration complex in the Changwon National Industrial Complex in Gyeongnam. It plans to install renewable energy power generation facilities such as hydrogen and solar power by utilizing idle land (closed or suspended factories) within the industrial complex. The goal is to build a power self-sufficiency infrastructure for energy independence by directly supplying the electricity produced within the complex. An energy storage system (ESS) will be introduced by the end of this year, and a public hydrogen fuel cell power plant will also be established by 2022. Participating companies within the complex are being recruited to create the demonstration complex.

Domestic industrial complexes are transforming into global eco-friendly advanced industrial bases to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Through the establishment of energy self-sufficiency infrastructure and smart energy platforms within the complexes, they will evolve into low-carbon, high-efficiency 'Smart Green Complexes.'

According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation on the 22nd, seven existing smart complexes, including the Changwon National Industrial Complex in Gyeongnam, will be developed into energy innovation Smart Green Complexes. After building 15 Smart Green Complexes by 2025, the plan is to expand the results nationwide from 2026. Various outcomes are expected, including the creation of 33,000 jobs, a 16% improvement in energy efficiency, and an increase in renewable energy production to 10% by 2025.

Industrial complexes house 100,000 companies. They play a pivotal role in regional economic development, accounting for 67.3% of domestic manufacturing production, 67.0% of exports, and 48.6% of employment. Especially with the acceleration of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and climate change, implementing energy self-sufficient models and establishing digital infrastructure at the complex level have become increasingly important.

Energy Innovation Complexes Established in 7 Locations
15 by 2025, Nationwide Expansion from 2026
Facility Financial Support Up to 200 Billion KRW Next Year
Tax Reductions and Green Guarantees for Renewable Energy Transition

Industrial complexes account for 77% of energy consumption and 83% of greenhouse gas emissions in the industrial sector. They are areas with high energy load density. Eco-friendly, clean, and energy-saving production is a critical task.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation will strengthen financial support for solar power installation within the complexes to promote investment in renewable energy power generation facilities. Support will increase from about 100 billion KRW this year to 200 billion KRW next year, and the scope of support will expand to include fuel cells and others. Customized support such as tax reductions and green guarantees will minimize the burden on tenant companies when converting facilities to renewable energy.

Additionally, a 'Smart Energy Platform' will be established to reduce greenhouse gases and fine dust within the complexes. The Ministry and the Corporation plan to support costs for energy diagnosis, installation of measurement and communication equipment, and cloud service fees (for three years). ICT infrastructure will be intensively distributed to improve factory energy efficiency within the complexes. A platform integrating cloud technology with energy data from the complexes will be built and linked to strengthen demand management at the complex level.

The government announced the Korean New Deal policy to overcome the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and to find new growth engines in the post-COVID era. The Smart Green Complex project is a concept that combines the existing smart complexes with the Digital New Deal and Green New Deal, and is one of the ten representative tasks of the Korean New Deal.

Park Seong-gil, Director of Industrial Promotion at the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation, said, "Through the Smart Green Complex project, the traditional image of industrial complexes?symbolized by energy-intensive and environmentally polluting areas of the 20th century?will be transformed into eco-friendly smart manufacturing spaces where advanced new industries are fostered."

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