Seoul City starts intensive energy saving drive

ICLEI Member Seoul Metropolitan City announced its plans to save electricity by cutting back on power use and relying more on renewable energy. Seoul has a population of over 10 million. These measures will ensure that the city saves electricity equivalent to the amount of energy generated from one nuclear power plant. The policy aims to reduce the use of fossil fuels and generate more green energy. It also supports the aim of slashing energy demand by 2 million tons of oil equivalents (TOE) by 2014.

“Seoul’s electric power self-sufficiency is only 2.8 percent while the demand for electricity is increasing. General anxiety has grown over the safety of nuclear power plants after the Fukushima incident and citizens call for safe and sustainable energy,” Mayor Park Won-soon said in a media briefing at City Hall.

Under this new scheme, the city will set up solar photovoltaic power generating facilities on the rooftops of 10,000 public and private buildings. This will generate enough electric power to prevent blackouts. Buildings that use large amounts of energy will be encouraged to improve their facilities, while lighting at public facilities will be replaced with energy-efficient LED lights.

The city will also encourage its citizens to more participate actively in carpooling and leave their cars at home at least once a week. Through those measures, the city expects to boost electric power self-sufficiency to 20 percent by 2020, reduce carbon dioxide produced by 7.3 million tons every year and to save 2 million TOE of energy by 2014.