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The Honorable Dongman Han, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in San Francisco, organized the Korean Government Clean Energy Forum 2013 in Denver on December 5. This was the first such Forum in Colorado, with others having been presented around the country. Korea, with its scant energy resources and energy-intensive economy is very interested in all forms of energy, and the nearby example of China has instilled a strong desire for clean energy.

A panel of state officials described what is happening in Colorado, with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory as a cornerstone. Korean policies and goals were described by Jaeyong Lee, Senior Manager at the Korean Institute of Energy Technology and Planning, and Gwangho Lee, from the San Francisco Consulate.

An array of Colorado entrepreneurs and CEO’s then gave examples of the strong private investment and technology environment in Colorado. These efforts are amplified by the Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory, a collaboration between UCB, CSU and the Colorado School of Mines. The ideas and successes of this effort were presented by David Hiller, Executive Director of the Collaboratory.

A final panel gave a larger picture, with national and international visions of where the clean energy business is going.

A high point of the forum was the reception after the panels and presentations. We UCB attendees, Larry Bell, executive director of International Education; Julie Kang, East Asia Outreach Coordinator at the Center for Asian Studies; and Jerry Peterson from Physics and IAFS, were able to induce a number of follow-up plans. It is a goal to recruit students from Korea more strongly, and to seek deeper research and policy-making connections. James McGibney, Honorary Consul of the Republic of Korea in Denver, has agreed to come to Boulder to get better acquainted with all we have to offer, and to discuss concrete connections. 

It is anticipated that this Forum will meet again in Denver next year, and we should begin planning for ways to take advantage of the many opportunities that will arise in clean energy cooperation with Korea. The Center for Asian Studies is the ideal organization to lead these efforts.

Authored by Jerry Peterson, Departments of Physics and International Affairs and Foreign Studies