Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
LG Innotek accelerates efforts to achieve RE100 goal by 2030
Park Yeong-su, right, head of Safety & Environment Division at LG Innotek, poses with Seo Kun-ki, head of the Renewable Business Division at SK E&S, after signing a power purchase agreement at the latter's headquarters in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of LG Innotek
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
LG Innotek signed a deal to receive 10 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy per year for the next 20 years from SK E&S, driving the LG affiliate toward its RE100 initiative goal of converting 100 percent of the electricity that it uses into renewable energy by 2030, the company said Wednesday.
The company said that it signed a direct power purchase agreement (PPA) with SK E&S on Tuesday. A direct PPA is a contract between a power supplier and a company for the direct sale of renewable energy, enabling the energy buyer to stably procure renewable energy without rate changes for up to 20 years, LG Innotek said, adding that this contract will contribute to its carbon neutrality efforts.
The renewable energy supplied through the agreement will be supplied to LG Innotek's production site in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, starting this December, and the company plans to gradually increase the number of sites to be supplied by next year.
With this contract, LG Innotek will be able to accelerate the implementation of its strategy to achieve RE100 by 2030, the company said. RE100 is a global initiative that pledges to convert 100 percent of the electricity used by a company into renewable energy.
LG Innotek achieved a renewable energy conversion rate of 22 percent by 2022, the company added.
“As of 2022, around 90 percent of LG Innotek's greenhouse gas emissions were from the use of electricity,” a company spokesperson said. “This agreement is expected to reduce 6,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, equivalent to planting 900,000 new pine trees.”
Under its RE100 roadmap, LG Innotek plans to further secure a stable renewable energy supply chain by purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs).
“This PPA with SK E&S is significant as we move into an important stage in our roadmap to achieve RE100 by 2030,” Park Yeong-su, head of Safety & Environment Division at LG Innotek, said.