Samchonpo power station

From Global Energy Monitor

Samchonpo power station (삼천포 발전소) is an operating power station of at least 2120-megawatts (MW) in Deokho, Hai, Goseong, South Gyeongsang, South Korea with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Samcheonpo power station, 삼천포 발전소.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Samchonpo power station Deokho, Hai, Goseong, South Gyeongsang, South Korea 34.910715, 128.108397 (exact)

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

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • CC3, CC4, CC5, CC6, Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6: 34.910715, 128.108397

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
CC3 Announced[1] fossil gas: LNG[1] 560[1] unknown not found 2026 (planned)[1]
CC4 Announced[1] fossil gas: LNG[1] 560[1] unknown not found 2026 (planned)[1]
CC5 Announced[1] fossil gas: LNG[1] 500[1] unknown not found 2027 (planned)[1]
CC6 Announced[1] fossil gas: LNG[1] 500[1] unknown not found 2028 (planned)[1]
Unit 1 Retired coal: bituminous 560 subcritical 1983 2021
Unit 2 Retired coal: bituminous 560 subcritical 1984 2021
Unit 3 Operating coal: bituminous, bioenergy: wood & other biomass (solids) 560 subcritical 1993 2024 (planned)
Unit 4 Operating coal: bituminous, bioenergy: wood & other biomass (solids) 560 subcritical 1994 2024 (planned)
Unit 5 Operating coal: subbituminous, bioenergy: wood & other biomass (solids) 500 supercritical 1997 2027 (planned)
Unit 6 Operating coal: subbituminous, bioenergy: wood & other biomass (solids) 500 supercritical 1998 2028 (planned)

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner Parent
CC3 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]
CC4 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]
CC5 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]
CC6 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]
Unit 1 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]
Unit 2 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]
Unit 3 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]
Unit 4 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]
Unit 5 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]
Unit 6 Korea South-East Power Co Ltd [100%] Korea Electric Power Corp [100.0%]

Background

Samchonpo power station was a six-unit coal-fired power station totaling 3,240 MW in Deokho Hai, Goseong. It was commissioned from 1983 to 1998, and owned by KEPCO.[2]

Although some sources may have indicated that Units 1-2 were closed in April 2020, they were not retired until May 1, 2021 – 16 months after it was originally planned. Units 3-4 are planned for closure in 2023.[3][4][5]

In March 2022, a fatal accident occurred at the plant. According to reports, a member of the Samcheonpo Business Division fell after taking the elevator to inspect equipment on the fifth floor of Unit 3.[6]

In January 2023, it was reported that among other South Korean coal-fired and co-firing power plants, the Samchonpo power plant had begun buying Russian imported wood pellets to co-fire with coal after the EU had banned imports of Russian woody biomass for energy use. [7]

Planned retirement

As of May 2021, Units 3 & 4 were scheduled to close by 2024; Units 5 by 2027; Unit 6 by 2028.[8]

As of November 2023, the latest news indicated that the coal-fired Units 3 and 4 were still scheduled for retirement and replacement by gas-fired units in 2024.[9] Reporting in March 2024 maintained that Units 3-6 would be shut down and replaced by gas-fired units, though it was unclear whether the replacement would still take place within 2024.[10]

Reporting in July 2024 stated that Units 3 and 4 were scheduled for closure in 2026, two years later than previously planned.[11] Units 5 and 6 were still expected to close in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

Conversion to gas

In 2020, South Korea planned to shut a total of 15.3 GW of coal-fired capacity by 2034 according to a draft of the country's ninth basic electricity plan, of which 12.7 GW would be switched to run on imported gas.[12]

The following power stations had plans to convert from coal to gas:[12]


In September 2022, residents of Samcheonpo protested against the gas conversion of the power station.[14]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20231118083456/https://www.kier.re.kr/resources/download/tpp/policy_230113_data.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 November 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. "Samcheonpo Coal Power Plant South Korea," GEO, accessed May 2020
  3. "낡은 화력발전소, 삼천포 1,2호기 가동 중단 경남환경연," Busan, April 30, 2020
  4. "삼천포화력 1·2호기 40년 만에 역사 속으로," Newsis, May 1, 2021
  5. "삼천포화력발전소 1·2호기 37·38년 만에 5월1일 영구 폐쇄," News 1, April 30, 2021
  6. "삼천포화력발전소, '설비점검' 나섰던 40대 노동자 추락사," Oh my News, March 15, 2022
  7. "The EU banned Russian wood pellet imports; South Korea took them all" Mongabay, January 24, 2023
  8. 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
  9. 남동발전, 삼천포발전소 '화력→LNG 복합발전' 대체 건설, The Guru, July 3, 2023
  10. 문형모 남동발전 건설처장 “최소 비용으로 최대 성능 발휘하는 발전소 짓겠다”, Electimes, March 15, 2024
  11. “석탄발전 폐쇄 과정서 정의로운 전환 만드는 사장 필요”, Labor Today, July 6, 2024
  12. 12.0 12.1 "South Korea to convert half of existing coal fleet to gas," Argus, May 11, 2020
  13. 13.0 13.1 The 9th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand (2020 - 2034), South Korea Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, December 28, 2020
  14. "(R) 삼천포발전소 LNG 전환에 삼천포 주민 반발," 서경방송, September 1, 2022

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.