“World-renowned energy scholars provided invaluable input and strong support
both online and offline for the success of the “One Less Nuclear Power Plant’ [plan]”
Won-soon Park
Mayor of Seoul
The IEAC Calls on World Cities to Follow Seoul’s Lead in Sustainable Energy Action
For Immediate Publication –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– 5 December 2015
On 4 December 2015, the Climate Summit for Local Leaders passed an ambitious resolution to “advance and exceed the expected goals” of the COP21 outcome (see Paris City Hall Declaration). The International Energy Advisory Council (IEAC) applauds the establishment of these targets and points to the impressive results achieved in a very short time in one of the most vibrant mega-cities in the world, Seoul, South Korea.
While South Korea’s national electricity and gas consumption continued to increase in 2013, Seoul - the country’s largest city - succeeded in a decrease of respectively, 1.4% and 3.5%. These are just two of the indicators of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s (SMG’s) stunning progress in delivering its ‘One Less Nuclear Power Plant’ plan, otherwise known as the Seoul Sustainable Energy Action Plan, launched in 2012.
The Seoul International Energy Conference (SIEC2015), held on 11 November 2015 in Seoul, highlighted the city’s accomplishments and featured presentations by ten members of the Seoul International Energy Advisory Council (SIEAC) representing seven countries (full program). The SIEAC comprises all twelve International Energy Advisory Council (IEAC) members and a Chinese expert. SIEAC members are appointed by the Mayor of Seoul and have been advising SMG since 2013.
The Conference was preceded by the SIEAC Annual Meeting, which focused on the establishment of a Seoul Energy Corporation and expert advice from SIEAC on the next critical phase of the Action Plan.
Earlier in the day Allan Jones MBE, President/Chair of the International Energy Advisory Council (IEAC) gave an extensive lecture on the establishment of energy corporations with good governance to deliver a city’s energy and climate change goals as a model for the Seoul Energy Corporation. The presentation focused on governance, sustainable finance, delivery of targets and how each energy corporation example covered in the lecture modified the basic model to take account of local conditions and the desired outcomes. Allan Jones is known for his work in establishing similar entities in Woking and London, UK, and in Sydney, Australia.
SIEAC in previous years had raised the need for the SMG to establish a Seoul Energy Corporation that will take full responsibility of implementing the second phase of the Action Plan and to meet new energy-related demand such as easing energy poverty, tackling climate change and boosting the energy efficiency and decentralized energy industries.
Following SIEAC’s advice, SMG outsourced a study, which thoroughly analyzed the current business environment, profitability of an energy corporation, and the advantages and disadvantages of keeping the Seoul Energy Corporation a public or private entity. On 1 July 2015 the SMG decided to develop a plan to set up a Seoul Energy Corporation by 1 July 2016.
The establishment of the Seoul Energy Corporation is being managed by the Community Energy Unit of the Seoul Housing Corporation of the SMG with the assistance of the Seoul National University and expert advisors. Although the specific roles and duties of an energy corporation will be developed further the Seoul Energy Corporation will at the outset be in charge of managing the SMG’s district energy projects. The scope of the Seoul Energy Corporation’s work will gradually expand to include green energy projects, energy consulting, diagnosis, supply of energy services like the Building Retrofit Program and LED lighting, greenhouse gas emissions trading, energy welfare, etc.
The new decentralized energy program of works will deliver 40,000 small-scale solar PV panels, 61 MW of non-utility cogeneration, 300 MW of large-scale solar PV and fuel cells and 1.3 TWh of heating and cooling from waste to energy plants by 2020. The mandatory renewable power generation for new buildings planning rules will also increase from 12% to 20% and unused or discarded energy will be recovered such as the inherent heat in ground water under subway stations to be used to heat and cool nearby buildings and waste heat from commercial cogeneration to heat nearby residential apartment buildings. The SIEAC will increase its advice effort to the SMG during the critical phase of establishing the Seoul Energy Corporation as well as its governance and its relationship to the SMG’s ‘One Less Nuclear Power Plant — Seoul Sustainable Energy Action Plan’ governance and consultations with its citizens and businesses.
EAC President/Chair Allan Jones said: “Seoul establishing an energy corporation to deliver its Sustainable Energy Action Plan is groundbreaking. Seoul really is leading the pack of world cities in sustainable energy action with a range of measures to increase the city’s energy self-reliance from 7% in 2015 to 20% in 2020 by a combination of a 9.5 TWh reduction in energy demand and an 8 TWh increase in decentralized energy generation. This, together with other measures in the Action Plan, will deliver a 20.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of 10 million tonnes a year by 2020”.
Background
The IEAC comprises a dozen world renowned energy experts who assist local and national governments as well as a range of other organizations with the design and implementation of forward-looking energy policy that can contribute significantly to sustainable development, and to climate-change mitigation and adaptation.
The IEAC’s focus is the replacement or avoidance of the incumbent centralized fossil-fuel and nuclear-energy systems by a combination of greatly improved energy efficiency and decentralized energy. The approach aims to provide a pathway to a 100% decentralized renewable-energy system.
The exceptional team of energy experts, analysts and consultants has collectively advised more than 200 governments and organizations in 27 countries as well as more than 50 international organizations.
The IEAC came about following the establishment of the Seoul International Energy Advisory, which brought together the energy experts who would subsequently found the IEAC.
For further information
Please check www.ieac.info or contact:
• IEAC President/Chair Allan Jones at chair@ieac.info or Phone: +44-1483 83 42 33
Cell: +44-7903 36 33 77.
• IEAC Media Spokesperson Mycle Schneider at media@ieac.info or phone +33-1-69 83 23 79
(Paris, France).
If you wish to contact other individual IEAC members, please contact Mycle Schneider for further information.