Aju Business Daily

SEOUL -- E1, a South Korean energy company, has built its first megawatt-class solar power plant in a bid to become a competitive player in the country's growing eco-friendly energy production market.

E1 said in a statement that it has built an eight megawatt-class solar power plant over an area of 69,166 square meters in Jeongseon some 150 kilometers (93 miles) east of Seoul. The power plant using solar panels will generate electricity for some 2,900 households. A 21.2 megawatt-per-hour energy storage system (ESS) was also built to collect unused electricity.

The Jeongseon power plant was E1's first megawatt-class solar power plant. E1 has focused on nurturing its green energy production part after the company made a foray into the green energy industry by building a 90-kilowatt solar power plant last year.

E1 said the company will expand its green energy business by utilizing liquid propane gas charging facilities across the country to build solar power plants.

In an effort to reduce the use of fossil fuel and nuclear power for electricity generation, South Korea is gradually converting its power source to clean energy sources such as solar power. In 2018, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy revealed plans for a state-funded project to build a floating 102.5 megawatt-class solar power plant on the surface of Shihwa Lake, an artificial reservoir about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Seoul.

In December last year, Korean Southern Power (KOSPO), a public electricity company, revealed its solar power generation project to build solar power generating facilities at new port facilities in the southern port city of Busan.

KOSPO said that solar panels for power generation will be built on the roofs of office buildings and warehouses. A 100 megawatt-class power generation facility can power 100,000 households using equipment with a power rating of 1 kilowatt-hour. KOSPO will break ground to build a 30 megawatt-class solar power generating facility by June next year and gradually build more facilities in other areas.