Paju, a Leading RE100 City, Shines with Civil Servants' Research... Wins Grand Prize at Environmental Academic Forum

Paju City's "Next Energy Wave" Club
Research on Local Government-Led RE100
Published in KCI-Listed Academic Journal
Recognized for Achievements at the "Forest and Sharing Environmental Academic Forum"

On November 14, Paju City in Gyeonggi Province announced that the energy innovation club, voluntarily formed by Paju City Hall officials, had presented its research achievements on a national environmental academic stage and won the grand prize.

Energy innovation clubs voluntarily formed by Paju City Hall officials are presenting research achievements on national environmental academic stages and winning grand prizes. Photo by Paju City Hall

Members of the Paju City Hall energy innovation club, "N.E.W. (Next Energy Wave)," presented a research paper at the 7th Forest and Sharing Environmental Academic Forum held at Baekyangnuri Hall, Yonsei University, on November 12, earning the grand prize.

This forum, hosted by the Forest and Sharing Foundation, was an environmental academic event attended by a diverse group of researchers, activists, university students, and citizens from the fields of environment, safety, and health. The event was divided into seven categories: carbon neutrality, sustainable development, biodiversity, environmental education, citizen science, and industrial health.

The Paju City Hall energy innovation club participated in the carbon neutrality session, presenting on the topic: "A Study on Calculating the Appropriate Direct Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) Unit Price Compared to the Korea Electric Power Corporation Tariff for RE100 Implementation." The authors of the paper were Kang Heehwan (first author) and In Byungjoo from the RE100 Support Team in the Energy Division, and Hwang Chanhyuk from the Energy Industry Team (co-authors). Kang Heehwan delivered the presentation at the forum.

This research quantitatively analyzed the appropriate direct PPA unit price level that would ensure economic feasibility for both local governments and regional businesses when local governments take the lead in public renewable energy projects, amid the current trends of RE100 expansion and rising electricity rates.

Notably, the study goes beyond a simple economic analysis by providing the foundational basis for calculating the unit price of a "local production and local consumption RE100 power supply model," in which local governments use public land to directly supply electricity to regional businesses. The results were published in Volume 45, Issue 5 of the "Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society," a KCI-listed academic journal, in October 2025. The research was recognized for both its academic merit and practical completeness, earning the grand prize from the forum's panel of judges.

Members of the energy innovation club stated, "RE100 is no longer just an obligation for large corporations but a task directly linked to the competitiveness of local small and medium-sized enterprises. By presenting an appropriate direct PPA unit price, we aimed to provide a foundation for regional businesses to reliably implement RE100."

Kim Haewon, head of the Energy Division, said, "It is a very proud achievement that Paju City officials conducted research based on field experience and received national recognition at a large-scale environmental academic forum. We expect that such research will serve as an academic foundation for fostering the RE100 industry and advancing basic energy policies in Paju City in the future."

This award is regarded as a symbolic example demonstrating that an administrative organization can grow beyond being a policy executor to become a policy designer and research entity. The Paju City Hall energy innovation club plans to continue researching local government-led energy policies, including public power purchase agreements (PPA), distributed energy, basic energy, and corporate RE100 support.

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