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Close-up of Earth in space with the sun in the background.

Samsung Semiconductor's transition
to renewable energy
in response to
climate change

Samsung Semiconductor's effort for the earth, transition to renewable energy

Samsung Semiconductor's effort for the earth, transition to renewable energy

Expanding
Three wind turbines seen against a blue sky.
Hand reaching up toward the sky, with the sun seen between its fingers.
renewable energy use
Multiple rows of solar panels seen diagonal across a green field.
at our domestic site

Expanding
Three wind turbines seen against a blue sky. Hand reaching up toward the sky, with the sun seen between its fingers.
renewable
Multiple rows of solar panels seen diagonal across a green field.
energy use at our domestic site

Green field seen against a blue sky with mountains in the background.

Samsung Semiconductor has achieved a 100% transition to renewable energy at overseas business sites by 2020, completing such transition at overseas manufacturing sites in the U.S. and China in 2019 and at all of the DS Division's overseas business sites in 2020.

We are putting all our effort
into increasing our use
of renewable energy.

Now it’s time to learn about what we’re doing to combat climate change in Korea. Just like our semiconductors, each and every one of us can help protect the planet and create a sustainable future.

Individual solar panels seen placed across a grassy field under a cloudy sky.

Samsung Semiconductor strives to expand the use of
renewable energy in line with governmental efforts to expand renewables

The Korean government’s plan to expand the use of renewable energy began with the promise that “by 2030, 21.6% of electricity will be generated from renewable energy sources.”

  • Samsung is
    expanding the installation of solar power plants
    at our Korean sites.

    Solar power generated at our Giheung, Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek
    sites in 2020

    1MWh: Powers 2,000 households for 1 hour
    (based on avg. power consumption per household in Korea)
    1MWh: Powers 2,000 households for 1 hour (based on avg. power consumption per household in Korea)
    Three blue bars showing how much solar power was generated. 961MWh Giheung: Power generated in 7 months, June to December 2020. 340MWh Hwaseong: Power generated in 12 months, January to December 2020. 496MWh Pyeongtaek: Power generated in 12 months, expected.

    961MWh

    340MWh

    496MWh

    961MWh Giheung Power generated in 7 months (Jun-Dec 2020)
    340MWh Hwaseong Power generated in 12 months (Jan-Dec 2020)
    496MWh Pyeongtaek Estimated power generation (Jan 2021)

    To increase the use of renewable energy, we’ve installed an 18,919m² solar power plant in a parking garage on our Giheung site, a 1,350m² plant on a parking garage in Hwaseong and another 409m² plant in a roof garden in Hwaseong. We also installed two 6,600m² solar power plants in the P2 parking garage in Pyeongtaek. But that’s not all, we’re also planning to build a parking lot with a solar power plant at our Pyeongtaek site by 2023 that will produce 1 megawatt (MW) of energy — as well as an additional parking lot and solar power plant by 2025.

    Installing these solar power facilities means we are able to replace even more energy with solar power. In 2020, our plant in Giheung produced 961 megawatt-hours (MWh) over seven months, the plants in Hwaseong produced 340MWh over 12 months and Pyeongtaek is expected to produce 496MWh from 2021.

    That’s a total of 1,797MWh of power. Based on the average amount of power consumed per household, just 1MWh can power 2,000 Korean households for an hour. With 1,797MWh, we can power 3.6 million households for an hour.

  • The K1 parking garage at Samsung’s
    Giheung site produces enough power
    for 470 households per year.

    The K1 parking garage at Samsung’s Giheung site produces enough power
    for
    470 households per year.

    K1 parking garage at our Giheung site seen with rows of solar panels on top.

    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.

  • Samsung’s Hwaseong site saves energy on heating and cooling through the use
    of geothermal heat pumps.

    Summer (Cooling)

    Heat absorbed indoors

    Heat dissipation
    to the ground

    Cooling occurs

    Illustration showing how a geothermal heat pump system works in the summer. Heat is absorbed indoors. Heat pump. Heat dissipated to ground. Rock bed.

    Heat absorbed
    indoors

    Rock bed

    Heat pump

    Heat dissipated
    to ground

    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.

    Winter (Heating)

    Heat absorbed
    from the ground

    Heat dissipation indoors

    Heating occurs

    Illustration showing how a geothermal heat pump system works in the winter. Heat is absorbed from ground. Rock bed. Heat pump. Head dissipated indoors.

    Heat
    dissipated
    indoors

    Rock bed

    Heat pump

    Heat absorbed
    from ground

    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.

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