Steel Giant POSCO Hitches Solar Power in Korea
By Jane Han, Staff Reporter, 4 July 2008
Source. KoreaTimes
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/06/123_25346.html
Steel giant POSCO installed the country’s largest solar power generators in its Gwangyang and Pohang facilities Wednesday, a niche business set to return about 1.6 billion won in energy sales annually. Company officials said the 1-megwatt giant solar panels set up on rooftops of its storage plants will render approximately 2,500 mega watt hours of renewable electrical energy, which is enough to supply 500 homes every year.
The generated power will be sold to local utility companies, such as the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), according to a POSCO spokesman. “The installation helped maximize unused (rooftop) space, while at the same time helped to minimized initial investment costs,” the company said in a press release. POSCO invested an estimated 12.6 billion won in the system installment.
The world’s fourth largest steel maker added its new energy solution is expected to reduce about 1,600 tons of greenhouse emissions annually. POSCO’s latest move follows its recent efforts to help offset global warming and the shortage of natural resources. The steel group is currently operating a hydropower generator in its Gwangyang Steel Works, and is scheduled to complete the world’s first fuel cell power plant in August.