[Air Quality UP, On Site] Dongseo Power's Unique Carbon Neutrality... 'Eco-friendly Co-growth' with SMEs

Dongseo Power, '2035 Win-Win Growth Mid-to-Long-Term Strategy Establishment'
Enhancing Strategy Effectiveness Through Survey of 259 SMEs
Systematizing Support for Business Transition of Coal and Other Thermal Power Companies
Supporting Replacement of Aging Equipment for 1,800 Companies by 2035

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] Korea East-West Power is accelerating its efforts toward ‘eco-friendly co-prosperity.’ With the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, the company plans to increase the share of renewable energy while also supporting energy transition for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the thermal power generation sector. It has set a target to support the distribution of low-carbon facilities to 1,800 SMEs by 2035 and to raise the localization rate of wind power generation to 90%.

East-West Power has established the ‘2035 Co-prosperity Mid-to-Long-Term Strategy’ reflecting these plans. Earlier, in February this year, East-West Power formed a working group to develop the co-prosperity mid-to-long-term strategy and held five meetings through last month. To enhance the strategy’s effectiveness, a survey was conducted targeting 259 SMEs during the formulation process, and direct discussions on energy transition support measures were held with 17 SMEs in the power generation and renewable energy sectors.

The difficulties faced by companies were diverse. The CEO of Company A in the thermal power generation sector said in a meeting with East-West Power, "We understand the necessity of energy transition," but added, "However, the renewable energy sector lacks technology and experience, making it difficult to discover viable items, and the market is flooded with low-priced Chinese products, lowering business feasibility." The CEO of renewable energy Company B lamented, "Domestic demand for wind and solar power is not large, and we are struggling in the market due to competition from low-priced Chinese products," adding, "The hydrogen market is not yet an environment where SMEs can participate."

Korea East-West Power headquarters located in Jung-gu, Ulsan.
[Photo by Korea East-West Power]

Support for Business Transition of SMEs in Thermal Power Generation

Accordingly, East-West Power has identified ten strategic tasks to support the energy transition of SMEs. First, East-West Power will systematically support the business transition of SMEs in the thermal power generation sector, including coal power. This is because, following government policy, liquefied natural gas (LNG) power generation is gradually replacing coal and other thermal power generation. East-West Power plans to provide opportunities for resident partner companies in maintenance and operation to participate in the maintenance of the latest gas combined cycle turbines to help them acquire LNG technology. By 2035, it is expected that 25% of resident partner companies will have fully mastered the latest LNG facility maintenance technology and become self-reliant.

To reduce carbon emissions, support will also be provided for replacing aging facilities. East-West Power plans to introduce facilities that can replace fossil fuels or improve energy efficiency to 200 SMEs by 2025. The number of supported companies will expand to 1,400 by 2030 and 1,800 by 2035. A representative from East-West Power explained, "SMEs can secure greenhouse gas emission permits to generate additional revenue," adding, "Expanding greenhouse gas reduction facilities and increasing related personnel recruitment are expected to help revitalize the local economy."

Agrivoltaics by Korea East-West Power.
Photo by Korea East-West Power

Building a Renewable Energy Supply Chain Centered on SMEs

East-West Power will also build a renewable energy supply chain centered on SMEs by promoting large-scale solar power projects. The company plans to prioritize purchasing SME products while increasing solar power generation capacity to 4,712 MW by 2035. Additional new projects where SMEs can participate, such as maintenance of aging solar power facilities and expansion of existing facilities, will also be discovered.

There is also a plan to actively utilize East-West Power’s ‘K-Wind 200’ project to create a wind power industry ecosystem centered on domestic companies. K-Wind 200 is a project to install 200 domestically produced wind turbines by 2030. East-West Power aims to gradually increase the localization rate of wind power generation from 50% in 2025 to 90% by 2035 by supporting SMEs’ market access and technology development. This will be achieved through applying domestically produced equipment to large-scale wind power projects independently promoted by East-West Power, such as the 750 MW-class East Coast Wind Belt.

Additionally, a ‘Wind Power Equipment Localization Ratio Reflection System’ will be introduced. This system awards additional points based on the localization ratio when bidding for equipment in wind farm development projects led by East-West Power. East-West Power expects that investments from overseas wind power companies, attracted through large-scale wind farm projects, will lead to increased order volumes for domestic SMEs.

Kim Young-moon, President of Korea East-West Power.
[Photo by Korea East-West Power]

Expanding Opportunities to Enter the Hydrogen Market

East-West Power will also establish a foundation for SMEs to enter the hydrogen market, which was cited as a major difficulty. During the demonstration of hydrogen co-firing gas turbines, East-West Power plans to operate a win-win council to increase opportunities for SMEs to participate in technology development. The Ulsan Hydrogen Convergence Complex, to be built at the Ulsan Power Headquarters, will provide cooperative projects where SMEs can participate in the entire hydrogen cycle infrastructure, including production, storage, and utilization.

Kim Young-moon, CEO of East-West Power, said, "We have sought concrete measures to support SMEs in the process of creating an eco-friendly energy ecosystem," adding, "We will strive to realize energy transition while growing together with SMEs."

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