The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said Friday it had signed a partnership agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank for establishing new energy infrastructure in Central and South America.

The Minister Paik Un-gyu met with Luis Alberto Moreno, President of IADB, in Washington DC on Thursday and they agreed to cooperate on the areas of smart buildings, energy storage systems and energy efficiency in the region. 

Both sides agreed to push for the establishment of an energy storage system by linking it with wind power and solar power in the islands or mountain villages where the power supply is limited in Central and South America.

They also agreed to use Korea’s smart building systems for public buildings in Barbados, an island in the Caribbean, to reduce power consumption. The buildings will be comprised of combined systems of internet communication technologies, energy storage system and renewable energy to optimize power consumption within the buildings.

Also, the Korean government plans to support the boundary nations of the Caribbean Sea by consulting on energy efficiency policy, terminal training for liquefied natural gas and education for improving power supply.

“Korea that has outstanding technologies in the areas of plants and infrastructure can be a good partner for the economic development of Central and South America that has high growth potential,” said the Minister Paik.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)