Jeju’s new role: Energy guinea pig

Korea is developing Jeju Island, famed for its resorts, into a test bed for clean reusable energy systems, industry and government experts said yesterday. The plan is to use the technologies to cope with rising oil prices. Officials from the Jeju regional government, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy and Korea Southern Power Co. (Kospo) hope to see pilot projects in such fields as wind and solar power, bio gas and geo-thermal energy. “At present 2.1 percent of the island’s electric power comes from reuseable energy sources,” said Kim Young-sam, an energy expert at the Commerce and Energy Ministry, adding that this percentage is expected to grow steadily in the coming years as more facilities are built with the help of both the Jeju and central governments. Jeju has also established a “regional energy roadmap” to make the best possible use of natural conditions and serve as a global example for clean energy use. The wind power projects have been the most lucrative. The average wind velocity on the island is 7 meters (23 feet) per second, making it a prime location to operate wind generators on a commercial scale. There are currently 15 wind generators in the village of Haengwon, northern Jeju. The generators, built from 1997 to 2003, already provide enough energy to supply 9,000 households and earn 1.4 billion won ($1.5 million) a year. In 2004, Kospo, a state-run company, also built the country’s first commercial wind power plant, in the Haengwon region. The four wind generators produce a combined 6 megawatts. Besides the four generators, the central government built two 850-kilowatt power units near the Haengwon plant early this year. It plans to build two locally designed 750-kilowatt units on the island in 2007. The government has also started a project to install a large number of solar panels on Mara Island, off the southwestern tip of Jeju. The panels will generate 150 kilowatts of electricity to help the 46 households on the island become more self-sufficient. Energy industry experts said that Jeju Island, being volcanic, could use thermal heat as an energy source, while harnessing methane gas released from its land fills as another form of energy. The Energy Ministry said it is also planning to use the island to test the feasibility of hydrogen fuel-cell powered cars.