South Korea to Become Tidal Power Giant

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As imports have begun to exceed exports in recent years due to a lack of natural resources, South Korea has been hard at work to create a renewable energy policy that would drastically lessen its dependence on imported energy. Though the attention of South Korea's new multibillion dollar renewable energy investment plan will mostly fall on wind and solar power and coal gasification, hydroelectric and tidal power are nonetheless important to the country's energy security. The massive Four Rivers Hydropower Project, along with developing tidal power plants, will share a significant percentage of South Korea's 2030 goal for renewable energy capacity.

In January, Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power Company Limited (KHNP) (Seoul, South Korea), which is a part of Korea Electric Power Corporation (NYSE:KEP) (KEPCO) (Seoul), signed a memorandum of understanding with GS Engineering and Construction (SEO:006360) (GSE&C) (Seoul) in order for the two companies to construct one of the world's largest tidal power plants. The new tidal plant is to be in the Bay of Inchon, which is a part of the Yellow Sea. When completed, the Inchon Bay Tidal Plant will surpass that of another KEPCO spin-off, Wando Hoenggan Waterway Tidal Plant, which currently holds the largest planned tidal plant title. For more information on the Wando Hoenggan Waterway Tidal Plant, please read the June 3, 2010, article - Construction of World's Largest Tidal Power Plant Under Way in South Korea.

The KHNP-GSE&C team intends to begin construction of the Inchon Bay Tidal Plant, based on research presented by the Korean Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs, sometime next year if all goes according to plan. Construction will take place in the waters between the five islands in Inchon Bay: Ganghwa-do, Jangbong-do, Yongyu-do, Sammok-do and Yeongjong-do. Many organizations and individuals have criticized and protested the new tidal plant, despite KHNP's best efforts to assuage worries and doubts over the protection of the Inchon Bay wetlands. KHNP has promised to build new breeding grounds and build new wetlands using by-products of construction efforts. When completed in 2017, the $3.9 billion tidal plant will generate 1,320 MW and will supply 60% of Inchon's total power consumption. Annually, it will produce close to 2.5 million megawatt-hours, the energy equivalent to more than 3 million barrels of crude oil.

Another South Korean firm, Renetec Company Limited (Seoul), which deals in solar and hydroelectric power as well as biomass, will be developing its first tidal power plant within the next few years. Renetec and Voith Hydro GmbH (Heidenheim, Germany), a joint venture between Voith GmbH (Heidenheim, Germany) and Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Berlin, Germany), have been working together to create a tidal turbine suitable to conditions found in South Korean waters. When the prototype was finished, Renetec went ahead with a small pilot plant and plans to finish the test run by the end of the year. Through analysis of preliminary data, Renetec is planning to construct a 150-MW, commercial-scale tidal power plant in the waters off Jindo Island, off the southern coast of South Korea. The $560 million plant has the potential to provide electricity for more than 100,000 homes in the region when completed in 2016.

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