SK E&S, a subsidiary of South Korean conglomerate SK Group, revealed it will invest US$1.7 billion (2 trillion won) to set up a data center and floating solar farm at an industrial complex in Saemangeum.
SK E&S beat three other corporations in its proposal to the Saemangeum Development Administration. If officially accepted, the plan featured a startup cluster, data centers, network cables and other business infrastructure to attract tech companies from around the world.
“We will be reborn as the nation’s largest eco-friendly energy company by investing heavily in renewable energy and energy solutions,” said E&S President Yu Jeong-joon.
In its proposal, the company proposed to make Saemangeum a self-sufficient city like Almere in the Netherlands where more than 5,000 jobs are created each year.
As part of the deal, SK E&S will be awarded a license to operate a 200 MW floating solar farm, making the global clean energy solution provider South Korea’s largest floating solar farm operator.
“We will take the lead in supplying clean energy and contribute to vitalizing the local economy,” added Mr. Jeong-joon.
The solar farm will have a capacity of 263 GWh per year and is expected to provide 2.4 gigawatts of electricity, producing US$3.2 million (3.8 billion won) in net profit for every 100 MW.
At a cost of US$425 million (500 billion won), the solar farm project is forecast to kick off in the second or third quarter of 2021, with operation beginning in 2023.
The proposed data center is part of a longer term plan in cooperation with sister company SK Broadband.
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