Samcheok Green power station

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Samcheok Green power station (삼척그린파워) is an operating power station of at least 2044-megawatts (MW) in Hosan, Wondeok, Samcheok, Gangwon, South Korea. It is also known as 삼척그린파워.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Samcheok Green power station Hosan, Wondeok, Samcheok, Gangwon, South Korea 37.186, 129.341822 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 2: 37.186, 129.341822

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - unknown, bioenergy - wood & other biomass (solids) 1022 ultra-supercritical 2016 2046 (planned)
Unit 2 operating coal - unknown, bioenergy - wood & other biomass (solids) 1022 ultra-supercritical 2017 2047 (planned)

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Korea Southern Power Co Ltd (KOSPO) [100.0%]
Unit 2 Korea Southern Power Co Ltd (KOSPO) [100.0%]

Background

The plant was originally proposed in 2010 to consist of two 1,000 MW zero emission turbines equipped with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Around 2011, KEPCO said they were interested in expanding the plant to 5,000 MW, powered by a mix of coal, biomass, and renewables.[1][2]

The plant was proposed to use "ultra-supercritical circulating fluidized bed" technology, allowing it to use lower grade coal (4,000 kcal/kg versus 6,000 kcal/kg in a typical pulverized coal plant) along with five percent wood chip biomass.[2] However, the efficiency of the process is rated at 38.8 percent, which matches that of the typical supercritical coal plant described in MIT's "Future of Coal" study.[3][4]

According to engineering firm Foster Wheeler, Kepco proposed the plant as four units of 550 MW each, planned for completion by 2015.[5][6][3] However, in May 2011, Toshiba Corporation received the contract to supply two 1,000 MW ultra-supercritical units to KEPCO.[7]

According to Korean sources from 2015, the first two coal units were expected to be 1,022 MW each,[8] and completed in 2016. CCS was not mentioned.[9]

In May 2016, it was reported that unit 1 would be commissioned in December 2016 and unit 2 in January 2017.[10]

Unit 1 began commercial operation in December 2016.[11]

On May 6, 2017, Unit 2 was reported as 99.27% complete. It was planned for operation by June.[12] It was completed in June 2017.[13][14]

In October 2022, an article stated that the Samcheok Green power station was the first site to utilize an innovative "indoor coal storage dust reduction facility" technology. It was installed in 2017.[15]

In March 2023, it was reported that the power plant's O&M (operations and maintenance) contract was nearing its expiration and that the plant was in danger of not securing a new bidder.[16] Following the former maintenance partner's decision not to renew its contract with Samcheok Green Power, the company feared that finalization of the "government's bidding standards for regular maintenance of thermal power plants" would cause significant delays for completing the bidding "in a timely manner." [16]

Potentially co-firing ammonia

According to the summary of a March 2023 Korea Southern Power Co. board meeting, the draft of a power plan called "Samcheok Green Power Ammonia Power Generation Infrastructure Establishment" (Google Translate) was passed by the board.[17]

Financing

Financing for the project was provided through bonds from the following entities: National Pension Service (US$694,790,228), NongHyup Life Insurance (US$137,129,373), Nonghyup Property and Casualty Insurance (US$9,141,958), NH Investment Securities (US$617,106,961), Korea Post (US$86,852,091), IBK Affiliates (US$18,283,413), and Industrial Bank of Korea (US$18,283,413).[18]

Planned retirement

Units 1 and 2 are scheduled to close by 2046 and 2047 respectively.[19]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. "S. Korea to build eco-friendly thermal power plant," Yonhap News Agency, June 10, 2011
  2. 2.0 2.1 Sarah Blackman, "South Korean power production: a nation's clean coal goal," Power Technology, May 4, 2012
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Samcheok Green Power Project," Foster Wheeler fact sheet, accessed March 2014
  4. "The Future of Coal," Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007, pages 20-22
  5. "Samcheok Green Power Project: A New Era in Clean Coal Technology," Foster Wheeler, accessed January 2014
  6. "The Latest CFB Technology Developments for Flexible Large Scale Utility Power Production," Foster Wheeler paper presented at PowerGen Europe, June 3-5, 2014
  7. "Toshiba Wins Major Ultra Supercritical Steam Turbines and Generators Order for Korean Southern Power Co.," Toshiba, 17 May, 2011
  8. "송전선로 없는 새 발전소 가동정지 위기 - 이투뉴스," e2news.com, January 26, 2015
  9. "'삼척그린파워' 화력발전소 위용 드러나," Newsis, June 21, 2015
  10. "대한민국 현장을 찾아서) 한국남부발전 삼척그린파워 1·2호기 건설현장," ElecTimes, May 18, 2016
  11. "삼척그린파워 1호 발전소 상업운전 개시," Yonhap News, December 17, 2016
  12. "건설中 원전·석탄발전, 차기 정권에서 운명은?," EBN, May 6, 2017
  13. "노후 석탄발전소 가동중단에 따른 미세먼지 저감 효과, 신규 석탄발전소 증설로 상쇄 우려," kfem.or.kr, July 25, 2017
  14. "한국남부발전 삼척발전본부 2호기 상업운전 개시," KW Times, June 13, 2017
  15. "대기업의 기술탈취…이기기도 어렵고 이겨도 이긴 게 아니더라," The Hankyoreh, October 24, 2022
  16. 16.0 16.1 "火電 경상정비 입찰 재개두고...발전사 ‘발등에 불’ 정부는 ‘미적미적’," ElecTimes, March 7, 2023
  17. "이사회 개최현황" KOSPO, Accessed: May 2023
  18. "Financing Dirty Energy: How Korean Public Financial Institutions Support Coal Power". Solutions for Our Climate. January 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. "Assessing the Health Benefits of a Paris-Aligned Coal Phase Out for South Korea," Annex II (Unit-level phase out schedules), Climate Analytics, May 2021

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.