Gwangju City Launches Citizen and Expert Support Group for Energy Transition Project

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City has begun discussions with citizens and experts to devise a plan to expand energy transition demonstration projects throughout the city.

On the 24th, Gwangju announced that it held the first meeting of the ‘Energy Transition Project Citizen and Expert Support Group,’ consisting of 11 participants including citizens, experts, academia, industry, and public officials, at the Artificial Intelligence Industry Bureau conference room.

The ‘Energy Transition Project Citizen and Expert Support Group’ plays a role in proposing policy measures from the citizens’ perspective and reviewing technical feasibility by experts for three demonstration projects that Gwangju is promoting to establish a new power trading system and realize an energy self-reliant city.

Gwangju is promoting ▲Energy Storage System (ESS) Power Generation Regulatory Free Zone ▲Future-type Smart Grid Demonstration Project ▲Blockchain-based Electric Vehicle (EV)-Renewable Linked Direct Current Power Trading Project to efficiently manage the increasingly expanding distributed resources such as solar power through artificial intelligence and to build an advanced power trading system.

The ‘Energy Storage System (ESS) Power Generation Regulatory Free Zone’ stores electricity generated by solar power in energy storage systems (ESS) and directly trades with power consumers. In November last year, a 2.5㎢ area around the Advanced Science Industrial Complex was designated as a regulatory free zone, and infrastructure construction and system design began this year.

The ‘Future-type Smart Grid Demonstration Project’ involves 6,240 households in seven apartment complexes participating in a green tariff plan that benefits those who reduce power demand, as well as developing and verifying future power service models such as virtual power plant power trading services and energy big data analysis in real-world settings.

The ‘Blockchain-based Electric Vehicle (EV)-Renewable Linked Direct Current Power Trading Project’ trades electricity produced at the solar power plant within Chosun University with buildings and electric vehicles. The transaction information generated is encrypted via blockchain and managed in real time through a control system, exploring ways to activate power trading brokerage businesses.

At the meeting, the support group listened to the progress of each project, proposed additional items to be included in the demonstration process from the citizens’ perspective, and discussed technical feasibility with experts.

Going forward, the group plans to visit each project site to develop practical business models reflecting the opinions of participating citizens, and citizens and experts will continuously monitor the project progress to ensure fair and transparent implementation.

Through the Citizen and Expert Support Group, Gwangju aims to commercialize research results in a way that resonates with citizens, achieve early energy self-reliance in the process, and significantly expand the installation of new and renewable energy such as solar power throughout the city, expecting to create new jobs.

Son Kyung-jong, Director of the Artificial Intelligence Industry Bureau of Gwangju City, said, “Gwangju has set a challenging goal of achieving energy self-reliance by 2045 and is solidifying the foundation for transition to renewable energy through energy transition demonstration projects linked with artificial intelligence.” He added, “We will commercialize the demonstration research results into citizen-centered projects and swiftly promote energy self-reliance through the Citizen and Expert Support Group.”

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