Overland Park, Kansas-based green infrastructure developer Diode Ventures announced Jan. 12 it has signed a joint venture agreement with Energy Innovation Partners for a large-scale renewable energy, data infrastructure partnership in South Korea.
According to a press release published by Business Wire, the Republic of Korea, which is home to around 52 million people, imports 96% of its energy due to limited natural resources.
Diode executives said the partnership with EIP will involve development and construction projects across the country.
“We believe the growing Korean market offers substantive opportunities to add value for our clients and support the evolution of greener, more sustainable energy infrastructure,” Brad Hardin, president of Diode Ventures, said in the release. “The EIP team is a trusted partner for Diode, and we are excited to work with them under the banner of The Green Korea Inc. to perform development, engineering, procurement and construction services that will bring these critical projects to life.”
The release stated that South Korea – while importing most of its energy – is attempting to reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2030 and achieve a net-zero economy by 2050.
“To get there, the country will need to significantly expand its renewable energy generation portfolio,” Diode said in the release. “Working together as The Green Korea Inc., the joint venture will offer the full life cycle of project development for solar, wind, battery energy storage, data centers and more, helping to advance the country’s sustainability initiatives.”
Heejun Park, EIP asset management president, praised the agreement as a “major milestone.”
“EIP is very confident in our ability to grow a sustainable and lasting infrastructure footprint in Korea in partnership with Diode,” Park said in the release.