Suncheon-si Produces Bioenergy from Organic Waste

Secured 118 Billion KRW in National Funding

Selected for Integrated Biogasification Facility Installation Project

Suncheon City, Jeollanam-do (Mayor Noh Gwan-gyu) announced that it has been reselected for the pilot project to install an integrated biogas facility for organic waste, led by the Ministry of Environment, securing 118 billion KRW in national funding.

The integrated biogas facility for organic waste processes two or more types of waste such as food waste, livestock manure, and sewage sludge together to produce bioenergy like biogas. This project is promoted by the Ministry of Environment to accelerate the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050 and to establish a foundation for renewable energy production.

[Photo by Suncheon City]

With this project selection, the city will integrate the operation of four types of organic waste (food waste, sewage sludge, livestock manure, and feces) treatment facilities that were previously operated around the existing Gyoryang-dong public sewage treatment plant.

Accordingly, this will not only solve problems such as aging facilities, capacity overload, and odor generation but also bring the city one step closer to carbon neutrality through bioenergy production.

Initially, a facility worth 96.9 billion KRW was planned, but based on opinions from nearby residents and to create an eco-friendly treatment facility, the main facilities were changed to be underground.

With the final approval from the Ministry of Environment, the increased total project cost of 177.5 billion KRW (national funding 118 billion KRW, local funding 59.5 billion KRW) will be invested to build a facility with a planned processing capacity of 370 tons/day on the idle land of the Suncheon public sewage treatment plant, aiming for completion in 2028.

The city plans to operate the produced biogas by feeding it into power generation facilities to sell to Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) or recycle it for internal facility operations to reduce operating costs and secure energy self-sufficiency.

A city official stated, “There were many inconveniences for residents in the villages around Dosadong due to odor issues, but we expect that the integrated biogas project will improve the quality of life for the surrounding villagers,” adding, “We will do our best to promote the project to contribute to carbon neutrality.”

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