SEOUL, KOREA - The Daegu Metropolitan City Government is trying to reshape the city based on the theme of renewable energy. It recently held an international academic conference and exposition on the topic and published a few days ago a long-term plan to locate renewable energy facilities including those for solar power, fuel cell, wind power, small-scale hydropower generation, and LED lighting.

 

According to the plan, the city will raise the share of clean energy in total energy consumption to 25 percent by 2025. To that end, the city government will build mini windmills and hydropower plants in industrial zones, water works, public parks, and rivers from this year. The target power generation volume from renewable sources is 1 million kilowatts by 2025, equivalent to electric power generated by one nuclear power plant.

 

The momentum for the city to turn its attention toward renewable energy was given in 2000 when the International Energy Agency designated Daegu as a solar city, meaning a city actively implementing the greenhouse gas reduction goals. Currently there are 15 cities across the world with this designation, such as HafenCity (Hamburg) and Mexico City.

 

Thanks to the effort, the city saw its renewable energy share rise to 6 percent last year, much higher than the national average of 2.7 percent. It hosts as many as 1,650 companies engaging in business related to renewable energy.