The combination of South Korea's information-communication technology prowess and the United States' top-notch energy technologies would generate great synergy effects in developing future energy sources, a top South Korean energy official said Thursday.
  

Second Vice Energy Minister Moon Jae-do made the remark during an energy conference in Washington, saying energy-rich countries in the future will have "an abundant variety of energy solutions," not merely an "abundance of fossil fuels."
  

"From this perspective, I believe that if the U.S., with its wealth of energy technologies, cooperates with Korea, an ICT powerhouse, to develop new energy businesses, it will benefit not only our two countries but people all over the world," Moon said during the conference, organized by the Korea Economic Institute.
  

The two countries have already kicked off such cooperation, with a Korean factory in the U.S. state of Michigan supplying batteries for 60,000 electric vehicles every year, Moon said.
  

Moon also cited similar cooperative projects, including those in the energy storage system sector.
  

"I am sure that such cooperation in new energy businesses will be a first step forward toward addressing energy issues in the future," he said.
  

Moon also outlined major renewable energy projects under way in South Korea, such as energy self-sufficient islands, electric vehicle battery leasing, the expanded use of ESS, the facilitation of demand-side resource trade and the use of warm coolant discharged from power plants for agriculture.
  

In particular, Moon said South Korea's southern resort island of Jeju, with a perimeter of 200 kilometers, is suitable for operating electric vehicles, and the country plans to replace all vehicles on the island, some 370,000 units, with electric vehicles by 2030. (Yonhap)