Four Billion KRW Allotted To Create New Blockchain-Based Virtual Power Plant In South Korea

In a new report by Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean government appear to be making changes within the city of Busan. The government has allotted a 4 billion Korean won (KRW) budget for the government to setup a virtual power plant that is rooted in blockchain technology. This type of plant makes it possible to create a collaborative space for multiple energy resources, which increases the power generation in the affected areas through a cloud-based system. The announcement came on Monday, December 10th.

Busan is the second-most populated city in all of South Korea, exceeded only by Seoul. However, the decision to work on this project to benefit the whole energy industry in Busan could end up changing that. The blockchain will also be shared by citizens and will be represented at an upcoming competition in 2019. The competition is hosted by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), which is the largest electric utility in South Korea.

This VPP project will end up using power sources like local factories and public facilities, along with solar power plants. The City of Busan was responsible for the proposal, which was combined with support from the local companies and institutions. Some of the other participants included Nuri Telecom, Busan City Gas, and the Korea Industrial Complex Corporation. The city has been working with blockchain technology already, and the idea of bringing it into a power plant is another step towards innovation.

The minister of economic affairs in Busan and former director general for financial policy at the Financial Services Commission (FSC), Yoo Jae-soo, had recently held a meeting about new changes in the area. Specifically, the meeting was called in an effort to establish a blockchain-friendly and crypto-friendly environment in a specified zone.

In June, the Industry-SW ICT Convergence Association (WICA) had also considered bringing up a blockchain center in Busan, using the Crypto Valley of Switzerland as a model. Based on the plan, their version would be setup in a beachfront space in Busan called Haeundae.

More recently, in a launch that occurred this morning, Shinhan Bank has made their blockchain-based initiative public. This move will help the internal system to reduce the record keeping issues that are caused by human error.

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