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[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City will significantly expand the supply of renewable energy that can reduce fossil fuel use in response to the climate crisis. As of last year, the renewable energy supply rate remained at 4.3% (0.8GW), but the plan is to balance the supply with various energy sources such as geothermal, hydrothermal, small hydropower, fuel cells, and solar power, raising it to 12.6% (1.6GW) by 2026 and 21% (2.4GW) by 2030.

On the 21st, Seoul City announced plans to install 600MW of geothermal energy, which can replace fossil fuels and reduce building heating and cooling energy, through financial investment, private financing support, and mandatory installation in new buildings. Hydrothermal energy will be supplied at 305MW, focusing on new buildings in large-scale urban development projects. This year, 18MW of geothermal energy will be supplied to three city buildings, the Banpo reconstruction project, and new public buildings, and a total of 600MW will be installed by 2030 through financial investment and mandatory zero-energy building policies.

Seoul will also pursue small hydropower generation that can operate 24 hours a day without fuel costs by utilizing the drop in the pipeline network of the Han River Jamsil submerged weir (north side of Jamsil Bridge) and water purification facilities. By 2030, a total of 5MW of power generation facilities will be established to produce electricity stably. A 2.5MW small hydropower facility will be installed at the Jamsil submerged weir. Design will begin this year with completion targeted for next year, and once small hydropower generation is fully operational, it is expected to supply electricity to 3,440 households. At the Amsa Arisu Water Purification Center, a 150KW small hydropower facility using the drop between water treatment facility pipelines will be installed within this year to partially replace the center’s electricity consumption.

Seoul City plans to promote the supply of 53MW of fuel cells to public facilities such as water recycling centers this year and expand to 600MW by 2030 through the discovery of public idle sites and private investment. Fuel cells are suitable distributed power supply facilities in the limited space of Seoul, producing electricity and heat simultaneously in less than one-tenth the space of solar power facilities, making them highly useful as urban renewable energy sources.

Additionally, Seoul will expand “Comprehensive Energy Stations” by 2030, which produce electricity directly by installing fuel cells and solar power at gas stations and include electric vehicle charging facilities. Following the opening of Parkmi Gas Station in Geumcheon-gu as the nation’s first ‘Comprehensive Energy Station’ in February, Seoul plans to establish a public-private cooperation system with oil companies and start converting 10 gas stations this year, expanding to the entire city by 2030.

Meanwhile, solar power will shift from a supply policy focused on quantitative expansion to one centered on new technologies and high efficiency, such as Building-Integrated Photovoltaics (BIPV). This year, 40MW will be supplied to public offices, pilot sites for new solar technologies, and railway sites, with a total of 800MW installed by 2030. Seoul will also take the lead in expanding the supply of unused renewable energy by proposing regulatory improvements and institutional reforms to various government ministries.

Yoo Yeon-sik, Head of Seoul City’s Climate and Environment Headquarters, said, “To respond to the climate crisis, we must first reduce fossil fuels, the main cause of greenhouse gases. We will focus our policy capabilities on converting the 67% of Seoul’s energy consumption that comes from fossil fuels into various renewable energies and continuously increase the renewable energy supply rate.”

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