To increase the use of renewable energy, Samsung Semiconductor installed a total of 2.8 MW of solar power generation facilities in its domestic sites as of 2023, including 1.5 MW at Giheung site and 0.7 MW at Pyeongtaek site. In 2023, it produced about 2.8 GWh and used it within the site. In the future, we plan to add more than 1 MW of solar power generation facilities to P3 and P4 of the Pyeongtaek site.

Samsung Semiconductor is actively expanding its solar power generation facilities and replacing a lot of its electricity usage with solar power. Comparing the 2.8 GWh of electricity used in 2023 to the average electricity consumption per household in South Korea, considering that 1 MWh can supply about 2,000 households for one hour, 2.8 GWh (2,800 MWh) is equivalent to the amount of electricity that can be supplied to about 5.6 million households in one hour.

Our largest solar power plant with a single phase inverter is on top of the K1 parking garage at our Giheung site and measures a massive 18,919m². That’s 2.3x larger than a football (soccer) field. It generates about 1,900MWh, which is enough energy to power 470 households for one year.

Building the largest solar plant gave us the chance to think about how to promote
eco-friendly behavior and participation in green activities, and we especially wanted to promote this discussion among clients and employees. So we installed a large LED screen at two garage entrances to show how much solar power is generated in real time, using this as a platform to show how green our sites are. And of course, we replaced the LED power with solar power generated from the plants in our parking garages.

The system works by storing solar energy underneath the Earth’s surface, which is later used to heat and cool. In the summer, the geothermal system absorbs indoor heat and moves it underground to cool, and in the winter it absorbs heat from the ground and moves it indoors to heat — ultimately saving energy.

Hwaseong’s geothermal heat pump system not only requires little upkeep, but is also built to last and minimizes greenhouse gases, waste and exhaust gas. It even eliminates noise and vibrations from the cooling tower, making Hwaseong’s working environment even more enjoyable. With this, we will continue expanding the use of renewable energy while reducing our environmental impact.

Every domestic business site of Samsung Semiconductor is equipped with renewable energy facilities. Solar power generation facilities have been installed in various spaces, including business parking lots and building rooftops. So far, a total of 2.8MW of solar power generation facilities have been installed at domestic business sites, including 1.5MW at the Giheung site and 0.7MW at the Pyeongtaek site, producing and using 2.8GWh of electricity in the sites in 2023. We also installed geothermal heating and cooling facilities with a capacity of 1,372 RT.
Furthermore, Samsung Semiconductor's domestic business sites signed a PPA with SK E&S in November 2023 and Samsung C&T in March 2024 to procure approximately 76.2GWh of renewable energy power annually from 60MW solar power plants starting in 2025, receiving approximately 1,466GWh* in total over the next 20 years. We will continue to strive to have more PPA's and expand renewable energy generation facilities.

* With consideration of reduction in annual guaranteed supply due to solar panel deterioration

Samsung Semiconductor USA Austin received the Excellence in Green Power Use from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in September 2019, which recognized us for our outstanding achievements in expanding the use of renewable energy. We increased the use of renewable energy from 3% to 100% by supporting green pricing and purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (REC).

Then in 2019, we worked with large companies like Apple, eBay and Sprint to purchase 75MW of renewable energy from large wind farms, and also made a 200MW renewable energy contract with other wind farms in 2021. In addition, we continue to focus on efforts to expand the actual use of renewable energy.