Jeju Samdasoo to Power Groundwater Extraction With Solar Energy... 320 Panels in Operation

【Financial News Jeju = Reporter Yong-bok Jeong】 Jeju Samdasoo has begun generating some of the electricity needed to pump groundwater directly at its facilities and using it on-site.
Jeju Province Development Co. said on the 11th that it had installed a 204.8 kW solar-power facility in an unused area at Jeju Samdasoo’s second groundwater extraction source.
The facility consists of 320 high-efficiency solar panels and is expected to generate more than 260,000 kWh annually. Rather than selling the electricity externally, the facility uses all of it to operate the equipment that pumps groundwater at the second extraction source.
The project marks a shift in the company’s approach to energy management. Jeju Province Development Co. has focused on reducing overall electricity consumption through the introduction of high-efficiency equipment and process improvements. Going forward, it will also generate some of the electricity it needs directly from renewable sources at its facilities.
The expansion of renewable-energy use from the groundwater extraction process, the starting point of bottled-water production, is also notable. The extraction facilities must continuously operate pumps and other electrical equipment to draw groundwater.
The company will also expand its in-house renewable-energy generation to new production facilities. It plans to install an additional 360 kW solar-power facility at the Jeju Samdasoo “L6 Smart Factory,” which is currently under construction. Including the 204.8 kW facility at the second extraction source, the two facilities will have a combined solar capacity of 564.8 kW.
The planned solar facility at L6 will have 155.2 kW more capacity than the one at the second extraction source. The company aims to transform the factory’s power structure by combining low-carbon, high-efficiency production equipment with in-house renewable-energy generation.
The initiative is also linked to Jeju Province Development Co.’s mid- to long-term environmental management strategy. The company aims to raise the share of renewable energy at its facilities to around 50% by 2030 and achieve RE100 (Renewable Energy 100%) and carbon neutrality by 2035. RE100 is an energy-transition initiative aimed at meeting a company’s electricity needs with renewable energy.
The company does not intend to achieve these goals through solar generation alone. Instead, it will combine measures including improvements in facility energy efficiency, expanded renewable-energy use, and zero-energy construction.
The investment by Jeju Samdasoo is also aligned with Jeju Province’s energy policies. As Jeju Province promotes the expansion of renewable energy and carbon neutrality as key policy priorities, the project represents a case in which a public corporation’s large-scale production facility is becoming a direct consumer of renewable energy.
Kang Seong-hoon, acting president of Jeju Province Development Co., said, "Carbon neutrality must begin at industrial sites where pumps operate every day." He added, "We will continue expanding the transition to renewable energy across our production facilities."


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