LSIS-KEPCO Establishes Japan’s First Solar Power Plant Connected with ESS

LS Group and Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) have jointly completed a solar power plant in Hokkaido, Japan, which is the largest in the region. As the KEPCO successfully established its first overseas solar power plant project and LS Industrial Systems (LSIS) succeeded in completing the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and operation and maintenance (O&M) project of its first solar power plant connected with an energy storage system (ESS) in the region, the two companies expect to clinch more projects in Japan.

LS Group said it held an opening ceremony for the 28-megawatt Chitose Solar Plant in Hokkaido, Japan, on October 26 with KEPCO CEO Cho Hwan-Eik, LS Group Chairman Koo Ja-yul and LSIS Chairman Koo Ja-kyun in attendance.

This is a global solar power plant construction project that has been jointly developed and invested by the KEPCO and Japan’s new renewable energy firm Energy Product (EP) and participated in by 10 South Korean companies, including LSIS, for equipment supplies.

For the Chitose project, some 130,000 solar modules and 13.7-megawatt ESS were built in a 1.08 million-square-meter area near the New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido.

The plant has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Hokkaido Electric Power Co. (HEPCO) and will stably supply power for 20 years with 40 yen (US$0.35 or 396 won) per kWh. The KEPCO expects to sell 28 megawatts of electricity that can be supplied to 10,000 homes a year and have the sales of 31.7 billion yen (US$278.86 million or 317.4 billion won) and the dividend income of 6.4 billion yen (US$56.3 million or 64 billion won) from the project.

LSIS is planning to prove the expertise in the solar power sector once again by successfully operating the plant and to widen its presence in the global market based on the know-how of business development.

According to U.S.-based market research firm HIS, the global solar power market will expand 17 percent from 58 gigawatts last year to 68 gigawatts this year and then to 73 gigawatts next year, showing a steady growth. Therefore, expectations are growing that LSIS will see its sales in smart energy business increase.