South Korea: Expo for New Solar Energy Innovations
[www.ntdtv.com 2011-04-25 11:24]
Leading companies join the 2011 International Green Energy Expo in Daegu, South Korea. Starting April 6, the expo has been well received by participants and visitors alike.
[Taehyeong Kim, Expo Director]:
“This Korea Energy Expo is now celebrating its 8th year. It’s the third largest in Asia and the 10th largest in the world. Photon International magazine just published the best 35 trade shows in the world, and we ranked 10th.”
Leading alternative energy companies from 23 countries attended the expo in the heart of Daegu. Among them…Centrotherm, DuPont, and solar equipment companies from both China and South Korea.
The main focus of this year’s expo is solar energy, considered by experts to be the cleanest, safest and easiest to install of all alternative energy options.
DuPont has made more than $9 million dollars from their solar equipment.
[Bong Kwak, Director of Solar Technology, DuPont]:
“Our company is mainly investing in solar technology. We’ve invested $300 million over the last few years.”
A major issue in using renewable energy is its inefficiency and short life span. But many innovative companies like this one are working to overcome these problems.
[Hyeongjune Kim, Director of Supporting Management, SMA]:
“People say that solar energy panels don’t last a long time. But actually, the problem is that the solar inverter doesn’t last. So, SMA has manufactured an inverter that can last up to 20 to 25 years.”
With rising energy costs, the competition for making better products is growing rapidly.
[Sangcheol Lee, Chairman, Millinet Solar]:
“In terms of the global market, we’re expecting the price gap between gasoline, green energy and fossil fuels to drop.”
New iPhone technology can’t escape from the alternative energy innovations.
[Gueongyoung Cho, Manager, LSTech]:
“After the solar USB system is charged, the battery can be used to power the iPhone or smart phone.”
This green energy expo leaves many feeling there’s a lot of hope for alternative energy for the future.
NTD News, Daegu, South Korea.