Jeonnam Province Secures 'Presidential Citation' at Korea Energy Awards, Strengthening Its Position as No.1 in Eco-Friendly Renewable Energy

[Muan=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province enhanced its status as the number one region for eco-friendly renewable energy by receiving the highest honor, the Presidential Citation, at the 2022 Korea Energy Awards ceremony.

The Korea Energy Awards is the largest government award in the energy sector, given to nationwide institutions, organizations, public enterprises, private companies, and individuals who have contributed to the development of the energy industry.

Jeonnam Province earned the honor of receiving the Presidential Award for the first time in its provincial government history in the energy sector.

This achievement is attributed to Jeonnam being the first metropolitan local government to establish a national-level energy-dedicated organization, enacting the “Ordinance on Fostering the Renewable Energy Industry and Citizen Participation,” and receiving high recognition for its efforts toward national 2050 carbon neutrality through the creation of the world’s largest 8.2GW offshore wind power complex.

The province, possessing the nation’s highest potential for solar and wind power, established a national-level energy-dedicated organization and achieved first place nationwide in renewable energy facility capacity and second place in power generation (as of 2021).

Additionally, it is advancing as the number one region for the renewable energy industry by developing a 5GW community co-prosperity solar power plant.

Alongside this, Jeonnam is implementing environmentally friendly and community co-prosperity power generation policies that minimize landscape damage and farmland encroachment while enabling residents to directly participate in power projects. This includes the nation’s first MW-class agrivoltaics, the enactment of the “Ordinance on Fostering the Renewable Energy Industry and Citizen Participation,” and securing the highest national funding for three consecutive years in the new and renewable energy convergence support project.

In particular, by establishing the world’s largest 8.2GW offshore wind power complex, Jeonnam is contributing to the realization of national 2050 carbon neutrality and the achievement of the 2030 National Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target (NDC).

The Korea Energy Engineering University, the world’s only energy-specialized university opened this year, is expected to play a crucial role in securing national and regional growth engines through focused research in energy, climate, and environment sectors.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy recently announced the “Renewable Energy Policy Improvement Plan in Response to Energy and Environmental Changes,” stating plans to expand renewable energy by about 5GW annually by 2030 and to increase offshore wind power distribution by 1.9GW annually. Accordingly, large-scale energy projects such as the 8.2GW offshore wind power complex in Sinan are expected to gain momentum.

Looking ahead, as global energy supply chain instability, RE100, and the European Union (EU) Taxonomy elevate energy as a core element of national security and carbon neutrality, Jeonnam plans to proactively respond to domestic and international energy industry trends by preparing corporate attraction strategies utilizing renewable energy and continuously leading energy policies such as designating distributed energy special zones.

Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok stated, “This award recognizes that Jeonnam’s energy policies and directions, which have been prioritized, have greatly contributed to achieving national policies such as industrial development and carbon neutrality, and it has laid the foundation for further progress. In the era of great energy transition, we will successfully establish the 8.2GW offshore wind power complex and RE100 renewable energy industrial complexes to create jobs and leap forward as a global Jeonnam leading the new energy industry.”

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