S. Korea turns public bus garage into comprehensive facility featuring charging stations and solar panels

By Kim Joo-heon Posted : November 8, 2021, 17:57 Updated : December 14, 2023, 01:40

[Courtesy of Suwon City]

SEOUL -- Through a 2.8 billion won ($2.37 million) project, South Korea's first comprehensive eco-friendly public-purpose energy complex that features both electric vehicle chargers and a solar power plant was built in Suwon some 34 kilometers (21 miles) south of Seoul. The old garage was changed into a new facility with 24 electric bus chargers and large solar panels that work as rain shields for parked vehicles. 

The eco-friendly electric bus depot, constructed on November 8, is powered by an 820-kilowatt-class solar power plant. The sustainable bus garage is Suwon's project to establish a green energy cluster where electronic bus charging stations, hydrogen charging stations and solar power plants are constructed. The sustainable bus garage will additionally adopt 48 electric buses.

"In the era of carbon neutrality, Suwon has taken another step toward a leading city for energy conversion," Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young was quoted as saying. In March 2021, Suwon also built a hydrogen charging station with a daily charging capacity of 250 kilograms.

To reduce the dependency on fossil fuels, South Korea has accelerated the adoption of electric and hydrogen buses. In October 2021, six electric double-decker buses started their operation on a bus route from Gimpo, a western satellite city of Seoul, to Gangnam, a southern business district, through a 6 billion won state project. According to South Korea's transport ministry, a total of 40 electric double-decker buses will be deployed to Seoul's satellite cities by the end of 2021. As of September 2021, South Korea has some 2,122 electric buses.

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