Jeju Island will be the hottest spot in Korean peninsula for its sizzling efforts to put the island in leading the field of energy conservation by hosting a “smart grid” pilot community.
The Korean government announced that the country has begun the establishment of a test bed for smart grid on Jeju Island. Gujwa-eup, a town consisted of 12 small farm villages, has been recently named as a pilot community for smart grid technology by the Korean government, as a part of its effort to commercialize the new electric grid system. The country plans to establish the world’s first national smart grid and create a smart grid market worth about 20 trillion won ($16 billion).
The project, to be completed in 2013, will benefit 6,000 households on the country’s southernmost resort island and is expected to help Seoul evaluate locally-made energy systems in a functioning environment.
Smart grids refer to an emerging technology that allows real-time monitoring of electricity output and demand. The system is designed to incorporate solar panels and wind generators into the main power grid, and lets consumers store energy and sell it back to the power company.
“What makes the Jeju community unique from other test beds abroad is that it incorporates all aspects of the smart grid, making it a true yardstick for the future,” said an authority official. The Jeju system will have infrastructure to allow the full use of electric plug-in cars, a network to harness clean power sources, and electric services and grids that can enhance energy conservation. The large-scale experiment will also incorporate renewable energies such as wind and solar generations and show how it can interact locally with distributed power sources.
The Korea Institute of Energy Research Center is currently testing the operation of a wind power generator capable of 500 kilowatt on the smart grid test-bed. It is also pushing ahead with the construction of sea wind power generators in the waters off Jeju sea. The planned offshore wind power generators capable of producing 2 megawatt are the first project case in Asia, Nam Jung-hyeon, chief of Jeju Research Center, an affiliate of KIER said. Thanks to the advanced technical knowhow of the local civil engineering companies, Korea will install sea wind generators manufactured by 80 percent of local products. “This (the planned offshore wind power project) will give the country an opportunity to export products and techniques to other country,” Nam said. Korea can become one of the leading smart grid developer in the future thanks to its advanced IT skills and strong manufacturing bases.
“Smart grid technology is not just related to energy businesses. It is the foundation of the development of other related industries such as home appliance, construction, IT and the fuel-cell battery industry,” Park Jong-dae, electronic engineering dept. at Konkuk University in Seoul, said.
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