Kia is accelerating its push for RE100 by expanding the supply of renewable energy to its major business sites.
Kia announced that it has recently introduced renewable energy power to AutoLand Hwaseong, the first of its domestic business sites, through a renewable energy purchase agreement (PPA) signed with Korea South-East Power (KOEN) in February. The renewable energy PPA allows corporations to purchase and use renewable energy at a fixed price for a certain period, providing the advantage of stable power procurement over the long term.
Kia will receive about 1,215 MWh of renewable energy power annually from Korea South-East Power (KOEN), which is enough to fully charge an EV4 standard model equipped with a 58.3 kWh battery more than 20,000 times.
Kia is actively working to expand the use of renewable energy and establish self-generation facilities at its business sites both domestically and abroad, aiming to achieve RE100 by 2040 in response to climate change and to realize carbon neutrality.
Kia plans to continue expanding the supply of renewable energy through PPAs at three domestic AutoLand locations in the second half of this year, increasing the total supply to about 61 GWh annually. In addition to domestic and Chinese business sites already receiving renewable energy power through PPAs, Kia plans to procure power through PPAs at its business sites in the United States and India in the future.
Furthermore, Kia plans to install a combined total of 38 MW of solar self-generation facilities at business sites in Korea, the United States, India, Mexico, and Slovakia this year, with plans to expand the facility size to 62 MW by 2027.
Lee Deok-hyun, head of Kia's sustainable management office, noted, "The transition to renewable energy is an essential task in responding to the global climate crisis," adding, "Kia will continue to expand its self-generation facilities at its business sites and pursue new renewable energy supply through PPAs to practice genuine carbon neutrality in the future."
Meanwhile, Kia is engaging in various activities to achieve its vision of becoming a 'sustainable mobility solution provider' and carbon neutrality, including expanding the use of renewable energy, transitioning to electrification, increasing the application of recycled plastics in vehicles, and providing education and support for carbon reduction to partner companies.
[OSEN]