S. Korea well positioned to lead global smart grid market: energy executive

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is well positioned to become a leader in
the global smart grid market, the head of a U.S.-based energy industrial body
said Wednesday.

Guido Bartels, chief of thr GridWise Alliance, said in a press conference that
South Korea has the required industrial infrastructure and commitment to take the
initiative in ongoing efforts to make better use of energy resources and enhance
consumer rights. The alliance is a gathering of U.S. energy companies.
Bartels, who has taken the lead in the alliance's efforts to modernize the U.S.
electrical grid system, held the press conference on the sidelines of the 2010
World Smart Grid Forum in Seoul.
Smart grids are an emerging technology that combines regular power lines with
information technologies that can permit real-time monitoring of electricity
output and demand. The system could facilitate the incorporation of solar and
wind power into the main power grid, while allowing consumers to store energy and
sell it back to the power company.
Such a system is expected to fuel development of an entirely new line of consumer
and industrial products that can benefit the economy and create jobs. Seoul said
it wants to establish a national smart grid system by 2030.
Bartels said South Korea's strength lies in its information technology, high
quality electricity production capability and its automotive industries, adding
that the level of commitment shown by the country's leaders and the business
sector further fueled its competitiveness.
"The country has all the right things on the table," he claimed, citing that
while many other nations he visited understood the growth potential of smart
grids, very few took steps to actually build up their potential.
The country high population density also makes the establishment of a smart grid
more cost-effective, he said.
Earlier in the day the Ministry of Knowledge Economy signed a memorandum of
understanding on cooperation with the U.S. state of Illinois to work on the
creation of a smart grid for the U.S. market and conduct joint research and
development.
"Government officials and businesses leaders who visited the United States
returned to the country and created a local smart grid association within two
months," the chairman, who also serves as general manager of the global energy
and utilities unit at IBM, said.
Asked about what measures the country can take to expand its position, Bartels
said that the government could consider giving utility companies "incentives" to
set up a smart grid network that could result in a drop in prices, and getting
consumers more involved so that they experience the benefits of the system
firsthand.
He added that the latter move could have a "snowballing effect" on moving forward
investment.
"Studies conducted in the United States showed that use of smart grids allowed
electricity bills to go down 10 percent and reduced peak demand by 15 percent,"
Bartels said.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
(END)

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