Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy grants regulatory sandbox approval
Goyang, a special-status city in Gyeonggi Province, is set to become the first municipality in South Korea to enter the pilot phase of a shared energy storage system (ESS) demonstration project after clearing a government regulatory sandbox.
The city announced Wednesday that a shared ESS virtual net-metering service it applied for jointly with private operator Ninewatt and other partners had received regulatory exemption approval from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's Industrial Convergence Regulatory Exception Review Committee.
Goyang is the first city in the country to receive a regulatory exemption for a virtual net-metering model using shared ESS infrastructure.
Virtual net-metering is an innovative service model in which electricity stored in an ESS is matched with nearby public institutions or private companies — consumers not physically connected to the storage unit — and used to offset their electricity bills.
Direct transactions outside the power market and virtual bill offsetting had been prohibited under the current Electricity Business Act, creating barriers to commercialization. Those barriers were broken down through active cooperation and support among Goyang, Gyeonggi Province and related agencies.
The demonstration project, linked to a competitive grant program run by the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, will be carried out over two years beginning in the second half of this year at a total cost of 3.2 billion won ($2.16 million), with a combined capacity of 5.8 MWh. It will operate in two zones identified as high overload-risk areas on Goyang's distribution network: the Naeu distribution line in Ilsandong-gu (4.8 MWh) and the Hwasam distribution line in Deogyang-gu (1.0 MWh).
Once under way, the project is expected to significantly ease overloads on Goyang's distribution lines and stabilize the power grid, while designated public institutions and private companies matched to the system will benefit from reduced electricity bills.
"The shared ESS virtual net-metering project, launching in Goyang as a national first, will be an innovative model that simultaneously stabilizes the power grid and eases the electricity cost burden on businesses," Mayor Min Gyeong-seon said. "Through a successful demonstration, we will make Goyang a premium eco-friendly city that leads the new industrial ecosystem."
The achievement is considered a model of public-private-institutional cooperation, built on four pillars: administrative support from Goyang and Gyeonggi Province for licensing and permits; technical support from Korea Electric Power Corporation and private firms including Ninewatt; construction supervision and facility operation support from Goyang Urban Management Corporation; and evaluation support from the Korea Energy Agency.
Goyang said it plans to maintain ongoing communication with Korea Electric Power Corporation and other partners throughout the demonstration process to help private operators secure profitability and ensure the project takes root as a permanent regime.
pjh@heraldcorp.com
