The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will discuss energy security issues the two countries must tackle together, including expanding the power grid to meet new electricity demand, scaling up energy storage systems (ESS), and improving energy efficiency. They will also address trends in the international energy market and ways to stabilize energy supply chains.
Vice Minister Lee Ho-hyun said on the 31st in the morning that he would meet with Acting Deputy Minister Curt Coccodrilli of the U.S. Department of Energy's Hydrocarbon and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) at Conference House Dalgabi in Jung-gu, Seoul, to discuss energy security cooperation between Korea and the United States.
The meeting was arranged on the occasion of Acting Deputy Minister Coccodrilli's visit to Korea. It is intended to continue high-level energy policy consultations between the two countries amid ongoing uncertainty in the international energy market.
The two countries will also review energy security and measures to meet electricity demand—the core agenda items of this year's Group of 20 (G20) energy ministers' meeting chaired by the United States—and discuss avenues of cooperation for a successful meeting. Korea-U.S. cooperation in the power generation and electricity sectors, as well as issues related to coal and geothermal energy, were also included on the agenda.
Vice Minister Lee said, "Stable energy supply and power provision are core foundations that support the national economy and industrial competitiveness," and added, "I hope this meeting will serve as an opportunity to respond jointly to uncertainty in the international energy market and to further strengthen Korea-U.S. energy security cooperation."