SeAH Besteel Holdings Co Ltd, a Korean steel manufacturer, plans to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) linked to a 21-MW solar farm being built in South Jeolla Province by Equis Development Pte Ltd.
The two parties have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to execute a REC offtake deal in the first half of 2023, the Asia-Pacific renewables developer announced. The yet-to-be-signed deal will be based on the Sinan Municipality’s Jara 3 solar power plant, which Equis plans to finish by the end of 2023.
“This MOU represents Equis’ first step into the burgeoning Korean corporate offtake market. We’re seeing tremendous demand across the private sector for renewable energy supply. We expect a large portion of our 400 MW of immediate development capacity to be contracted with corporate customers over the next 12 months,” Sung Woo Yang, managing director of Equis.
Korea East-West Power Co Ltd (KEWP) and Korea Southern Power Co Ltd (KOSPO) have offtake agreements for the first two solar farms constructed as part of the Jara portfolio, referred to as Jara 1 and Jara 2, respectively.
After the Korean government permitted renewable energy producers to enter into direct contracts with corporate users as part of the worldwide RE100 plan in 2021, the steelmaker decided to work with Equis.