LG Chem becomes the first Korean company to sign a long-term purchase contract for renewable energy certificate

To secure a stable supply of renewable energy, LG Chem announced on the 24th that the company signed a long-term purchase contract of renewable energy certificate(REC) at Samcheonpo Thermal Power Plant(10MW) with Korea South-East Power Co. (KOEN) that stretches over 20 years. LG Chem became the first Korean company to sign a long-term supply contract of REC.

REC(Renewable Energy Certificate) is a certificate issued through renewable energy generation such as solar energy. Once companies purchase the certificate, they are certified for eco-friendly electricity usage and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Thus, the corporate demand on REC has continued to rise.

With the signed contract, LG Chem secured an average 9GWh worth of renewable energy per year for 20 years from now until 2041. With a total of 180GWh of electricity, 43,000 households can use this amount for a year; it also has the same carbon emission reduction effect as planting 600,000 pine trees.

LG Chem’s transition to renewable energy at all its global business sites is in full swing.

Last year, LG Chem transitioned 5% of its entire electricity usage from global operations sites to renewable energy. The company plans to reach 10% this year, doubling the amount from last year’s.

In doing so, LG Chem plans to actively secure renewable energy through various channels such as REC purchase, green premium, and power purchase agreement(PPA).

Yu Jiyung, Chief Sustainability Officer of LG Chem, said “LG Chem will transition even the core pillars of its businesses to ESG so that it can leap into a global sustainable science company” and added “the company will take a lead in securing renewable energies to achieve net zero by 2050.”