State-run Korea Electric Power Corp., the nation‘s top utility company, signed a memorandum of understanding with the state of Maryland on Thursday for comprehensive cooperation in smart grids and new energy projects, company officials said.
The signing was made during the visit of KEPCO CEO Cho Hwan-eik to the U.S. as part of the business delegation for President Park Geun-hye’s state visit to the U.S.
It is the first time that an American state government has established a memorandum with a Korean company on the power sector, KEPCO officials said.
“The MOU would be an important starting point for South Korea and Maryland to realize sustainable energy goals in the future,” said the KEPCO head.
Attending the signing ceremony in Annapolis were Maryland Secretary of Commerce R. Michael Gill and Yumi Hogan, the Korean wife of Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan.
With the memorandum, the two parties would maintain close ties in developing joint projects in such new power businesses as smart grids, smart cities, advanced metering, energy storage systems and systems for recharging electric vehicles.
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| KEPCO CEO Cho Hwan-eik (left) stands with Maryland first lady Yumi Hogan (center) and Maryland Secretary of Commerce R. Michael Gill after signing an MOU on Thursday in Annapolis, Maryland. KEPCO |
KEPCO raised hopes that the memorandum will open the door for making inroads into the U.S. new energy market, which is estimated at 3 trillion won ($2.66 billion) and accounts for 25 percent of the global total.
The state of Maryland, situated between major cities like New York and Washington, has a large-scale electricity infrastructure. It has been actively investing in smart grids, as well as improving its energy efficiency and updating its power grids and energy storage, making it an ideal partner, KEPCO officials said.
Additionally, Maryland has also strived to be an energy-efficient state, passing the EmPOWER Maryland Energy Efficiency Act in 2008 in order to reduce their per capita electricity consumption by 15 percent by 2015, offering programs and services to conserve energy.
KEPCO has been pursuing overseas expansion in the new energy businesses as of late, having recently exported their micro grid technology worth 13 billion won to Canada’s PowerStream in July.
The power company announced that during Park’s visit to the U.S. they have also established memorandums of understanding with Southern Company Services, General Electric and Beowulf Energy to promote new energy industries.
By Seo Jee-yeon, Sang Youn-joo(jyseo@heraldcorp.com)
