Fiat Lux

by R. Elgin on May 10, 2007

in Asides, South Korea

Work has begun on the world’s largest solar energy plant just outside of Mokpo. (thanks to Joongang Ilbo)

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“The Demand for Nuclear Power Plants Is Going to Explode” | The Marmot's Hole: February 20, 2008 at 6:53 pm

{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Linkd May 10, 2007 at 12:15 pm: Good for them, and a major leap in the “biggest” race, since the most recent “Asia’s largest” photocell field was completed in North Kyungsan province just one month ago. It was only 2.2 megawatts, far below this one, at 11 MW.

http://www.lgcns.com/eng/04_ne.....CODE=R0197

http://www.lg.net/eabout/press.....6&rn=3
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2 Brendon Carr May 10, 2007 at 12:55 pm: This was also reported in today’s International Herald-Tribune, with a slightly different angle. Not to brag (okay, yes to brag), but the real know-how is coming from our client’s delivery of a turn-key power plant to Dong Yang Engineering. SunTechnics is my partner Doil Son’s client at our firm Hwang Mok Park and we have been working together as their lawyers in putting this deal together, along with Lee & Ko as counsel to Standard Chartered Bank which is providing construction finance, and Sigong Law for the prime contractor Dong Yang.

The SunTechnics Korea team is a great group of people — I normally hate working for “Korean companies” because of the typically slapdash management style, but SunTechnics Korea really has their stuff together. Well organized and visionary, and sophisticated enough to work with lawyers as peers in a deal, collaboratively instead of as helpless supplicants. We’re expecting big things from them and are looking forward to putting together several more power plants in Korea and probably in China too. Once they have things rolling here we will quickly put that know-how to work in other regional markets.

And, it should be something really neat to show the kids.
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3 Grumpy May 10, 2007 at 1:36 pm: So is something like this what they are up to?

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/not.....257890.php
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4 michael May 10, 2007 at 1:51 pm: Great to hear of this, hope it goes smoothly.
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5 Brendon Carr May 10, 2007 at 2:09 pm: The Sinan Solar Power Plant will not be in the mold of the Spanish tower of light (which also seems pretty cool). Korea’s is a straightforward “farm” of photovoltaic (light-into-electricity) panels, albeit high-efficiency panels — while the Spanish project uses mirrors to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a single point where they have a heat-transfer device generating steam. A solar cooker, if you will.

We have no idea which one is more efficient or suited to Korea’s conditions.
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6 railwaycharm May 10, 2007 at 2:34 pm: Mr. Carr, do I read you right? You work for K.S. Mok?
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7 Brendon Carr May 10, 2007 at 2:49 pm: Generally, I don’t work “for” anyone at Hwang Mok Park, because my partner Doil Son and I have our own client base which includes this company SunTechnics, and we service our clients ourselves with the assistance of our own associates plus HMP’s pool of excellent associates (really, excellent — we could not have recruited such talent ourselves). In our first four months at this firm — we were acquired in January — we haven’t taken any work from the general distribution of “firm” matters. But today I received an employment-law project from one of Mr. Mok’s clients (a health-care products company) and so it looks like we’ll be working together soon.
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8 Linkd May 10, 2007 at 2:50 pm: The know-how on the photocell field cited in #1 was foreign, too, but no matter – whatever puts power into the grid without putting CO2 into the air, right?

Leading question, railway – what do you know about the honorable Mr. Mok? Something juicy?
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9 railwaycharm May 10, 2007 at 3:09 pm: B.C. I know many past and present members of that firm. A great bunch of people!
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10 SomeguyinKorea May 10, 2007 at 3:27 pm: If they were only concerned with the environment they’d save the 80 footballs fields and set the solar panels on the rooftops of the homes who will use the power. Whatever surplus energy they’d produce would be circulated to other homes.
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11 Hugh May 10, 2007 at 11:50 pm: This story was a great thing to read today, and hearing Brendon’s comment in #2 made me feel better that…are you ready for it…I own SunTechnics stock! and intend to hold on and add to it for 20 years. You all should do the same – can you say, buying railroad stock in 1840, or GM stock in 1930, or Microsoft in 1988? Forget about market timing, look at long-term trends and what companies are in there early getting the expertise and market share….

I also felt good, because I happen to believe that ‘peak oil’ is going to happen somewhere in the early teens of this century….and this is a sign of some preparation for that ‘long emergency’.
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12 Newton Kabiddles May 11, 2007 at 11:59 am: Uranium
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13 SomeguyinKorea May 12, 2007 at 12:29 pm: Yeah, no doubt there’s money to be made in renewal energy resources.
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14 Railwaycharm May 12, 2007 at 8:33 pm: SK interestingly enough has the largest number of per capita nuclear power plants in Asia. I am not surprised that the move toward solar is being entertained. As the Australians say “good on-em!”
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15 judge judy May 14, 2007 at 2:06 pm: i did a photovoltaic investment research report in korea last year which was quite enlightening. korea has very strong governmental support for renewable energy in terms of loans and ability to sell excess energy back to the grid. however, most koreans PV suppliers find the likes of suntechnics to be a bit expensive. the real investments will most likely be with the korean companies that are now beginning to manufacture PV products, or with chinese companies that are already there.
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16 Brendon Carr May 14, 2007 at 2:34 pm: The Sinan Power Plant project is made possible by government directive that KEPCO purchase solar-generated electricity at a price far higher than the market price for oil-generated electricity. The exact figure is not at my fingertips, but it’s high: Dong Yang Engineering says seven times greater than nuclear or fossil fuels.

Costs will come down as more projects come on line, because economies of scale become possible. Additionally, creation of demand for photovoltaics also draws additional research and development to the field. Korean companies will want a piece of SunTechnics’ action — and the competition will be good for everyone, including SunTechnics.

There are also a couple of “worlds’-biggests” coming in the tidal-energy sector. Korea’s west coast has high tide variations, which also can be tapped to produce a heck of a lot of energy.

So we have market-based competition sparked by smart government policy, something which, when done well, Koreans are very good at. The high-speed Internet we’re using now was sparked by just this type of government-led demand creation.
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17 ziffel May 14, 2007 at 2:52 pm: Question for Brendon Carr:

Is this plant connected to an “Energy Service Company” (ESCO) project approved by the Korea Energy Management Co. (KEMCO) per the Rational Energy Utilization Act of 1991?

Or is this a different animal altogether?
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18 Brendon Carr May 14, 2007 at 3:58 pm: Is this plant connected to an “Energy Service Company” (ESCO) project approved by the Korea Energy Management Co. (KEMCO) per the Rational Energy Utilization Act of 1991?

Uhh, we’ll have to get back to you on that one. We were the second Korean law firm chosen by this client (you’ll never guess the first), and came into the project well after questions like this were being asked.

UPDATE May 15, 2007: Yes, it is.
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19 Sonagi May 14, 2007 at 7:49 pm: Someguyinkorea wrote:

“If they were only concerned with the environment they’d save the 80 footballs fields and set the solar panels on the rooftops of the homes who will use the power.”

The rooftops of Chinese cities that receive a lot of sunshine are equipped with such panels.
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20 R. Elgin May 14, 2007 at 8:52 pm: Apparently the Chinese, realizing the seriousness of their pollution and its consequences, have begun investing heavily in solar and wind power projects. I hope Korea can innovate rather than just follow trends in this area.
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21 dlatn May 14, 2007 at 10:31 pm: 180,000 pyong makes 20,000 kW
Wow, thats 100 Watt per pyong.
A nuclear power station takes up about 30,000 pyong and puts out 2GW.
thats 70,000 Watt per pyong
At night.
Korea does’t have much space for solar panels
Add maintenance costs to this tax dodge, have you seen the dust here.
Average annual sunlight, this is not Australia.
hailstorms, snow, typhoons..

My apartment is 42 pyong, shame I have to share it with the other 27 floors.
1Kw fridge, 1kW freezer, 1kW PDP TV, 1kW kimchee fridge, 300W rice steamer, 400W vacuumcleaner, DVD player, microwave, 2 alarmclock radios, computer, 5 electric toothbrushes, 3 electric razors, his and her’s marital aid set, three electric lamps, 23 light bulbs…etc

Even if Dokdo was Korea’s and it was covered in solar panels, Korea would still not have enough electric energy to supply its needs.

Don’t want to knock a purportably environmentally-friendly solution to our energy problems, however this does not seem to be the most appropriate solution for Korea, no matter how good it may be for certain industries keen on entering export markets but still in need of government assistance.

With Korea’s tidal flows and numerous islands, I’d say tidal power projects would make less pale-skinned elephants.
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22 ziffel May 15, 2007 at 5:08 pm: Thanks for answering my question, B.C. Esq. (#18)

Was just wondering since it’s a topic I’ve become acquainted with recently.

On a completely unrelated matter, and if I may push my luck with another question, this time for “dlatn” (#21), what exactly is a “his and her’s marital aid set”?

And perhaps not totally unrelated, did you actually go around and count all 23 light bulbs in your apt?

Btw, I too think nuclear is probably a better bet, but that depends critically on siting and building the ever-delayed waste facilities.
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