LG Electronics signs a direct PPA for factory with GS EPS

Industry

Published: 19 Sep. 2022, 18:13 Updated: 19 Sep. 2022, 19:10

LG Electronics signs a direct PPA for factory with GS EPS

Park Pyung-gu, left, LG Electronics senior vice president of safety and environment, and Chung Chan-soo, GS EPS CEO, pose for a photo during a signing ceremony for a direct power purchase agreement on Friday in Gangnam District, southern Seoul. [LG ELECTRONICS]

LG Electronics will buy renewable energy from GS EPS, a local energy company, to power its home appliance factory in Changwon, South Gyeongsang.

The companies on Friday signed an off-grid direct power purchase agreement (PPA). This marks the first instance in which local companies signed an off-grid direct PPA deal. On off-grid direct PPA does not use the public electrical grid operated by Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) in power trading.

The direct PPA system took effect on Sept. 1. It allows electricity consumers to purchase renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, directly from electricity generators.

The new system was implemented by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in a bid to support local companies that joined the RE100 initiative by providing a wider range of options. In the previous third-party PPA system implemented last year, power purchasing deals had to be brokered by Kepco, and the companies had to pay grid fees to Kepco.

GS EPS will install and operate some 10,000 solar panels, measuring 20,000 square meters (215,278 square feet) in total, at LG’s Smart Park factory in Changwon by 2025. As the electricity generated through the solar panels will be directly deployed to the factory, the companies do not require the electricity grid operated by Kepco.

The solar plant will generate about 6,600 megawatt-hours of electricity a year, which equals about 10 percent of the electricity used by the factory. Approximately 3,000 tons of carbon emissions are expected to be cut through the deal, according to the companies.
LG Electronics announced on Aug. 16 that it joined the RE100 initiative, with the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

The signing ceremony for the PPA deal was held last Friday in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, with Chung Chan-soo, GS EPS CEO, and Park Pyung-gu, LG Electronics senior vice president of safety and environment, in attendance.

“We expect this project to serve as a catalyst to accelerate LG Electronics’ transition to renewable energy, and will continue to work with LG Electronics based on our expertise in renewable energy generation,” Chung said.

“By continuously working for renewable energy transition at the major production bases, we will offer a customer experience unique to LG Electronics through environmentally-conscious premium products,” said Park.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]