[ Hyundai E&C and Glennmont D & D Solar Holdings signing ceremony. Young-il Cha, Vice President of Infrastructure Investment & Development at Hyundai E&C (left) and Joo-hyung Jung, CEO of Glenmont D & D Solar Holdings (right) take a commemorative photo after the signing ceremony ]

Hyundai E&C has gained a strong foothold in the private power trading market as it seeks to secure a renewable energy supply chain.

On March 12 (Tuesday), at Hyundai E&C's headquarters in Gyedong, Jongno-gu, Hyundai E&C announced that it has signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)* with Glennmont D&D Solar Holdings to supply solar renewable energy. 

* Power Purchase Agreements (PPA): A direct PPA in Korea allows power producers and electricity consumers to enter into supply and purchase contracts (collectively referred to as transactions) respectively, through renewable energy-based power suppliers, and there is also an independent PPA system in which power producers and electricity consumers enter into renewable energy-based power transactions through the intermediary of KEPCO.

Glennmont D&D Solar Holdings is a joint venture between UK-based renewable energy investment firm Glennmont Partners* (Glennmont) and SK Eternix, established in 2023 for the purpose of developing renewable energy projects in Korea.

* Glennmont is a subsidiary of Nuveen, which has approximately $1.3 trillion in assets under management globally and has been a pioneer in clean energy investing for more than a decade. It is one of Europe's largest fund management firms specializing in renewable energy, with more than 113 clean power projects, including wind and solar, generating a total of 6.7 GW of energy across the EU.

The signing ceremony was attended by Young-il Cha, Vice President of Infrastructure Investment & Development at Hyundai E&C, and Ju-hyung Jeong, CEO of Glennmont D&D Solar Holdings. Hyundai E&C will receive Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs)* with Glennmont D&D for a period of around 25 years until 2048, establishing a reliable renewable energy supply network.

* Renewable Energy Certificate (REC): A certificate that authenticates the supply of power through the generation of renewable energy sources such as solar power, and the purchase of this certificate has the same effect as if the company had directly generated renewable energy.

The agreement is in the form of Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs), which trade RECs without the need for physical delivery of power from renewable energy plants, and will allow Hyundai E&C to provide more power in an efficient and long-term manner to local companies, such as Hyundai Mobis, that have signed renewable energy purchase agreements. 

Moreover, Hyundai E&C was selected as the first local partner of a joint venture of Europe's largest fund specialized in renewable energy, further solidifying its position in the Korean private power trading market.

A Hyundai E&C source said, "This deal is a result of our excellent financial soundness and recognition of our capabilities as a professional power brokerage trading business operator.” “Through this agreement, we will accelerate the adoption of renewable energy through PPAs with local companies and build a business structure that enables both power producers and consumers to generate a stable stream of revenue to achieve RE100 and carbon neutrality.”

Meanwhile, Hyundai E&C has been supporting the transition to renewable energy for major Korean companies, including Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors, and Hyundai Mobis, since it officially announced its entry into the power brokerage business in September last year. In particular, it has partnered with energy IT company "60Hz" to develop a power trading automation IT platform and VPP service equipped with a PPA trading automation solution for the first time in Korea. In addition, the company plans to lead the local energy transition market by launching a project on the “construction and operation of energy self-sufficient infrastructure" in the Incheon Namdong Industrial Complex, and to consolidate its role as Korea's leading "net-zero solution provider" by developing various products and business models.