South Korea Plans Additional 13,080 Megawatts of Coal, Gas Power

---

Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--With some concerns circulating about the security of the country's nuclear reactor fleet and the pressing need to stay ahead of the power demand growth rate, South Korea has announced that the construction of eight new coal-fired power plants has been approved and that the construction of six gas-fired plants is under consideration.

The coal-fired plants will be built by Samsung C&T (KSE:00830) (Seoul), Tongyang Power, SK Engineering & Construction and a subsidiary of Dongbu Group. Construction is scheduled for completion by 2027, and they will generate a total of 8,000 megawatts (MW). This is the first time in three decades that private operators have gained approval for coal-fired projects.

The six new gas-fired power plants under consideration would have a combined capacity of 5,080 MW and would feed power to the grid by the end of 2017, with the first units operating commercially by June 2015.

The plants are Dangin (950 MW), Pyeontaek (900 MW), Ulsan (400 MW), Tongyeong (940 MW), Pocheon (940 MW) and Yeoju (950 MW).

The government says that the finalized, long-term power supply plan will be released in early February.

In the country's current energy plan, nuclear reactors are required to generate 49% of electrical power in 2024. In 2011, nuclear delivered 33% of the country's total power.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.