Solawin Project Facilitates Korea-Mongolia Cooperation

Kim Young-hoon Chairman of Daesung Group

As a corporation whose chairman is honorary consul to Mongolia and the Korea-Mongolia Economic Cooperation Committee chairman, Daesung Group is taking the lead in cooperative electric power generation projects between Korea and Mongolia.

Taegu City Gas and the Daesung Institute for Clean Energy (DICE), key affiliate companies of Daesung Group, have been involved in Mongolia since 2001, establishing two solar and wind power facilities in October 2003, one of them in the capital of Ulan Bator.

Their most recent project, called Solawin, launched in June 2003 and should be completed in May 2005. This important project is aimed at pioneering a Northeast Asia energy cooperation system through the application of pricecompetitive Korean-made solar and wind energy generation facilities, which will strengthen cooperation between Korea and Mongolia. According to executives of Daesung Group, the project is going forward in earnest using a non-government consortium organized around Taegu City Gas.

Daesung executives said that the nongovernment consortium has concluded an agreement of international joint research between Korea and Mongolia, including the Mongolian postal service, in the interest of developing solar and wind energy applications for use in desert electrification.

Mongolia's Gobi Desert is known to have very favorable sunlight as well as wind conditions. During the winter, when sunlight is somewhat short, wind can be counted on to blow at a consistent highly speed.

Daesung executives have pointed out numerous positive effects from the Solawin project. First off, Korean corporations are expected to take part in the plan to introduce solar power to 100,000 households within Mongolia through a joint research project between Korea and Mongolia.

In particular, Chairman Kim Younghoon of Daesung Group noted on the occasion of Mongolia's National Day that it is possible to nurture solar and wind power as an export by taking advantage of Korea's technological competitiveness in Asia.

Korean corporations are expected to take a major part in the Gobi Desert's very large-sized solar energy project. Daesung executives note that the current Solawin project could be greatly helpful to Korea's ability to handle worldwide alternate energy needs arising from such forums as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.