Ministry of Industry to Conduct 'Green Premium' Bidding in First Half of Year... Expansion to Universities and Art Museums

Bidding for 'Green Premium' Starts from the 7th... Winning Bid Results Announced on the 22nd
Minimum Bid Price 10 KRW per kWh... Participation Expanded to Science Centers and Others

Beyond the Yeongdeok Wind Power Complex, the first large-scale wind power complex in Korea, a brilliant New Year is rising. The year 2021 is expected to be the starting point for South Korea's energy transition, following its declaration of carbon neutrality by 2050. In particular, wind power, which is rapidly growing worldwide, is anticipated to lead the transformation to renewable energy. We hope that South Korea's "Made in Korea" wind power, equipped with world-class wind power technology, will carve out new hope and boldly advance across the globe.

Gyeongbuk Uljin ? Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] The green premium bidding for the first half of this year will be implemented starting tomorrow. From this year, the participation targets have been expanded to include universities, art museums, and more.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 6th that starting from the 7th, the green premium bidding for the first half of this year will be conducted for companies and institutions implementing RE100. The green premium is a system where electricity consumers who wish to implement the international campaign 'RE100 (100% renewable energy use)' voluntarily pay an additional premium cost on top of their electricity bill. The green premium voluntarily paid by companies is used for building renewable energy infrastructure and other purposes.

The government introduced the green premium system in January last year as one of the means to achieve RE100. Unlike other methods introduced last year such as self-construction, third-party power purchase agreements (PPA), and renewable energy certificate (REC) trading, it does not require separate renewable energy sales contracts or installation of private facilities, making it the simplest means to achieve RE100.

The cost is also cheaper than other RE100 implementation methods. This is why most companies used the green premium last year. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, out of 74 companies and institutions utilizing RE100 implementation methods last year, 59 used the green premium system. The ministry expects that demand for renewable energy purchases through the green premium will increase this year compared to last year due to the spread of ESG (environment, social, governance) management.

Operation system of the Green Premium Program.
[Photo by Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy]

The participation targets for the green premium have also been expanded. From this year, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has expanded the bidding participation targets from existing industrial and general electricity consumers to include educational electricity consumers such as universities, science museums, and art museums. The ministry is also considering expanding the participation targets to residential electricity consumers from the second half of this year so that the general public can also purchase renewable energy.

The announcement and application period for the green premium bidding for the first half of this year is from the 7th to the 21st of this month. The ministry plans to announce the successful bidders on the 22nd. The bidding floor price remains the same as last year at 10 won per kilowatt-hour (kWh).

Companies that win the green premium bidding for the first half of this year will have the green premium added to their monthly electricity bills until the end of this year. Companies utilizing the green premium can receive a 'Renewable Energy Usage Certificate' every quarter, which can be used as evidence of contribution to carbon neutrality.

A ministry official stated, "Interest among domestic companies and citizens in using eco-friendly renewable energy is steadily increasing along with the 2050 carbon neutrality scenario," adding, "To promote the use of renewable energy, we plan to actively review incentive provision plans for RE100 companies in government support projects in consultation with related ministries."

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