SKorea to inject $47 mn to fuel energy efficient lighting use

SEOUL: The S Korean government said today it will spend USD 47.0 million (54.5 billion won) this year to increase the use of energy efficient lighting products, a measure aimed at helping South Korea cut back on greenhouse gas emissions.

The funds will promote use of light-emitting diode (LED)-based lighting products, power transformers and inverters, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy.

The effort is expected to cut carbon emissions by 284,760 tons and save 678 gigawatt hours of electricity.

The total savings are equal to power used by 200,000 households. The cuts can help South Korea meet its greenhouse gas reduction target and save money that would have been used to import energy resources, the ministry said.

The country imports most of its oil, gas and coal energy from abroad, and pledged last year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent of its "business as usual" forecast for 2020.

Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have been cited as the cause behind global climate change.

Of the funding, USD 9 million (11.0 billion won) will be used to replace regular incandescent and halogen lights with energy efficient LEDs.

State subsidies to encourage people to change their incandescent and halogen lights can reach up to 50 percent of the total cost, the ministry said, adding it wants to replace all incandescent with LEDs by 2014.