As climate change and environmental pollution reach catastrophic levels, the importance of renewable energy is growing. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA)’s ‘World Energy Outlook 2023’, renewable energy centered on solar and wind power is expected to account for a whopping 80% of new power capacity worldwide in 2030.
However, renewable energy has the disadvantage that its power generation fluctuates depending on the weather conditions. As the weather becomes more and more unpredictable, it is difficult to estimate the consumption itself. In particular, renewable energy power plants are scattered all over the country, making integrated management difficult. Therefore, a solution to supplement this is inevitable.
VPPlab, a Jeju, South Korea-based virtual power plant (VPP) and renewable energy solutions startup, a platform company that manages renewable energy efficiently. It is an integrated power plant (VPP, Virtual Power Plant) technology that integrates and controls distributed renewable energy with its own information and communication technology (ICT) and operates it as a single generator. It plays an important role in monitoring and managing surplus energy and acting as an agent for transactions, connecting power producers and consumers.
The Korea Power Exchange (KPX), which controls the electricity market and power system in the country, now is test the real-time market for renewable energy in Jeju Island starting on 2024 and expand the market policy nationwide in 2025.
This is part of the national energy supply plan announced in January 2023, which aims to increase renewable energy contribution to 30.6 % of total energy supply by 2036 and improve the power networks and demand prediction system. Renewable energy makes up 7.5% of Korea’s total power production as of 2021-end.
Based on the energy market reform, supply from renewable energy producers, and demand situations will be updated in real-time, which requires predictive power generation solutions and price bidding solutions for market participants, Cha Byung-hak, CEO of VPPlab, said. It will further be increasing demand for VPPlab’s solutions, Cha noted.
Founded in 2021 Vpplab, one of the early VPP companies in Korea, offers renewable power brokerage services, VPP operation & solutions, and RE100 consulting services to market participants in the energy sector.
The company is willing to discuss both financial and strategic investors who can collaborate in partnerships as conventional energy firms increasingly tend to adopt its solutions to increase ESG values in their operations.
The company already generates revenues which it expects to increase next year to KRW 4.0bn with the entry of a new ESS business, he said.
VPPlab is also participating in the Jeju municipal-led VPP platform project which integrates VPPs, distribution system operators (DSOs), and independent system operators (ISOs) in the island, according to Cha.
Jeju, which targets to be a carbon-free island by 2030 leading Korea’s energy transition for net zero pledged by 2050, has a favorable geographical environment for developing wind and solar energy. Last year, renewable energy accounted for 18.2% of Jeju’s total power generation whereas the national average stood at 9%,
VPPlab was founded by four members including CEO Cha Byung-hak, CTO Lee Jong-il, and, CIO Kim Kyung-rok, CMO Jeong Ju-hyun. It has several intellectual properties in renewable energy output and power brokerage systems, according to its website.
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