An aerial view of Naver's GAK data center in Sejong City / Courtesy of Naver
Naver is making a move into the renewable energy business to make its data center power supply greener, signing a deal with GS E&R to acquire a stake in the company’s wind farm.
Naver said Tuesday it has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with GS E&R’s wind farm operating subsidiary and will acquire a 30 percent stake in the wind power plant currently under construction in Yeongyang, North Gyeongsang Province.
The deal marks the first time in Korea for a company participating in the RE100 initiative to directly invest in a power generation entity to secure renewable energy. RE100 is a global campaign that encourages companies to source 100 percent of their electricity from renewable sources.
The upcoming wind farm, slated to begin commercial operation in the first half of 2028, is expected to generate about 180 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. It will supply power to Naver’s data centers in Sejong and Chuncheon, Gangwon Province.
The company expects that the project will lift its renewable energy usage to roughly 46 percent of total power consumption by 2029.
“As power demand from artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud expansion rises rapidly, securing renewable energy is becoming essential," Naver’s environmental, social and governance policy leader Lim Dong-a said.
“Through direct investment in power generation, we aim to strengthen energy supply stability and continue efforts to achieve our 2040 carbon-negative goal.”
By combining equity investment with a long-term PPA, Naver said it seeks to lock in a more stable and predictable energy supply in a domestic market where renewable capacity has struggled to keep pace with demand.
The company said the approach helps remove constraints tied to fossil fuel-based electricity procurement, which has complicated efforts to meet its RE100 and carbon reduction targets. It added that such a move can serve as a model for private-sector investment in renewables, while also help ease regional power imbalances by directly supplying renewable electricity to data centers located outside the Seoul metropolitan area.
Source: Korea Times News
