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.
Samsung responding to climate change agilely utilizing eco-friendly technology
Solar panels are installed at parking lots of Samsung Electronics' branches in Suwon and Yongin. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics
By Baek Byung-yeul
By Baek Byung-yeul
With global companies working to tackle climate change, Samsung Electronics is also taking part by utilizing eco-friendly technologies.
The tech giant posted a video on its YouTube channel, Thursday, showing how it is using solar panels at its four semiconductor-manufacturing plants in Yongin, Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek and Asan.
Installing the solar panels is part of Samsung's plan to fully use renewable energy in its operations. In June 2018, Samsung announced its worksites in the United States, China and Europe would rely exclusively on electricity sourced from renewable sources by 2020.
Thanks to the efforts, 92 percent of the energy used in these workplaces was generated by renewable energy in 2019 and the company achieved its goal of 100 percent renewable energy as scheduled last year.
As part of its plan to use renewable energy at its worksites around the world, Samsung said it is generating electricity through solar panels at its Korean workplaces' parking lots.
“Across various worksites in Korea, Samsung has installed solar and geothermal facilities for renewable energy production. At the company's Suwon, Yongin and Pyeongtaek campuses, geothermal power-generation facilities have been installed across the campuses' parking lots, buildings, roofs and new construction sites,” the company said.
The overall amount of power generated from these solar panels is 2,847 megawatt-hours. Given the average monthly power consumption of a four-person household is 350 kilowatt-hours, the company has been generating enough electricity to power 678 households for a year.
Samsung Electronics said the electricity generated from the solar panels is not used for semiconductor production lines. Due to the intermittent nature of renewable energy, which depends on weather conditions and inability to provide a constant power level, there are limitations to using renewable energy in its production lines, as it can cause large-scale losses in the event of a blackout even for a second.
Not only in Korea, but also other Samsung workplaces around the world are working on increasingly the use of renewable energy. Its India unit has signed a renewable energy supply contract with wind and solar suppliers; its Mexico branch has purchased renewable energy certificates; and its Brazil unit has used specific percentages of renewable energy at its worksites there.
“The company will also continue to pursue its policies of increasing energy efficiency and minimizing the usage of resources so that users can rest assured that they are doing their part to help mitigate climate change with products that require low electricity and provide high performance,” Samsung said.