ESS blocks blackout amid the US winter storm…

# It’s dark everywhere. Even the street lights in Texas, USA, have disappeared after a winter storm. On one side of the residential area that has turned into darkness, a house that has overcome the blackout catches attention. Not only the lights in the house, but also in front of the door is bright. It is a house with Tesla’s residential energy storage system (ESS) installed. The short 13-second video that overcame the blackout with ESS became a hot topic on social media (SNS). Foreign media such as the British Daily Independent reported on ESS activities in winter storms. After the winter storm, stocks related to ESS and fuel cells rose significantly.

The ESS industry in the US and Europe has entered a growth phase, but the situation in Korea is the exact opposite. ESS construction orders were virtually cut off from last year, and the industry is on the verge of death. The head of a sales team at a large company in the ESS business said, “When it comes to placing orders, it has returned to the level of 2014 when the ESS industry was born.” The situation is worse for SMEs that cannot afford to operate funds. The representative of the small and medium-sized business that produces ESS sighed, saying, “The stock is piled up, but the company’s operating funds are running out because there are no orders.”

The ESS business operator, who was placed on the verge of the test, began a collective action. They formed an association to pressure the government. The Korea ESS Association held an inaugural general meeting on the 20th of last month and issued a declaration urging the government to prepare industrial measures. The ESS Association, which participated in 30 SMEs, said in a declaration, “We will mobilize all means to resist the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, which is driving into bankruptcy.” ”He raised his voice.

ESS attracted attention as a leading industry until the first half of 2019. This is because it can overcome the intermittent nature of eco-friendly energy such as solar or wind power. However, as nearly 30 fires continued at the ESS plant, it practically stopped from the second half of 2019. The order for construction work at the plant has disappeared, and even insurance companies are not handling ESS-related insurance products. An official from the battery industry said, “The Korean ESS market once led the related industry to the extent that it ranked first in the world, but it is not now.

The cessation of related industries is related to the investigation of the cause of the fire. The government conducted two investigations following the ESS fire. Even in an investigation for nearly a year, the government was unable to pinpoint the cause of the fire. Meanwhile, policy support for the ESS industry was cut off. Budget support was not extended due to the sunset system. The industry, which had grown in full swing, stopped at the government’s passive will for policy.

Overseas is the exact opposite. Market research firm SNE Research predicts that the global ESS market will grow at an annual average of 33% from 11.6 GWh (gigawatt hours) in 2018 to 86.9 GWh in 2025. Overseas companies such as Tesla are leading this. Kang Dong-jin, an analyst at Hyundai Motor Securities, said, “The installation of Tesla ESS in the fourth quarter of 2020 has grown significantly to 1.6 GWh.” The ESS industry is receiving more attention recently because it is possible to reuse batteries as ESS batteries after using electric vehicles.

Experts point out that ESS should be nurtured as an essential business group because it is intertwined with eco-friendly energy. Professor Moon Seung-il of the Department of Electrical and Information Engineering at Seoul National University said, “To overcome the intermittent nature of eco-friendly energy such as solar and wind power, ESS is not necessary, but essential.” He added, “As the ESS market is expected to grow rapidly, the government should pay attention.”

Reporter Kiheon Kang [email protected]