Dam with High-tech Facilities

Cheongsong pumped storage power dam the largest in the world dedicated

A remote-controlled pumped storage power generation plant, the largest in the world and the first one in Korea, was dedicated on March 9 in Pacheon-myeon, Cheongsong County in North Gyeongsang Province by the Korea Western Power Co. with a number of dignitaries led by second Vice Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Lee Jae-hoon, Gov. Kim Gwan-yong of North Gyeongsang Province and President Kim Jong-shin of Western Power attending.
The power dam took 6 years and 4 months to complete at the costs of some 592 billion won and 1.1 million manpower mobilized since the launch of its construction in September, 2000, Western Power officials said.
WP President Kim Jong-shin said he is so glad to see the dam completed, because it is the largest remote-controlled pumped storage power dam in the world. The WP president could hold down his excitement when he saw 230 tons of water flowing out of the dam per second controlled remotely by the Samrangjin hydro-electric station some 130 km away.
He said the local residents should be proud of the remote-control system that operates the new dam and it also is the first power dam to be built at the request of local residents. It is also likely to be known as the only environmentally-friendly power dam in the area. Animal routes in the area were restored as soon as the dam was completed. The global positioning system was used to keep construction work to a minimum, although the project was not an easy one due to the area's mountainous topography. But President Kim said the company wanted the dam to be environment-friendly as local residents wanted. "It was not easy to dig both horizontal and vertical tunnels and underground power generation facilities,"the President recalled, adding, "they had to be extra cautious to do the work."The power dam's Nos. 1&2 power plants have the combined capacity to generate 600,000 Kw of electricity per year bigger than a power station using coal to generate power. It is controlled by the pump storage power dam in Samrangjin some 130 km away drastically reducing expenses.
The installation of the remote-control system saved some 15 billion won in construction costs and 140 billion won in operation costs, in addition to the extension of fiber optics technologies to power generation plants and other industries to generate both tangible and intangible effects.
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said the dedication of the Cheongsong dam brought the nation's hydro-electricity generation to account for 8.4 percent of total power generated in the country and the remote-controlled power dams to account for 71 percent of power generated by hydro-electric dams. nw

A number of dignitaries at the dedication ceremony of the new dam including Vice Minister for Energy Lee Jae-hoon and President of Korea Western Power Co. Kim Jong-shin.

A view of the Cheongsong Dam, the first remotely controlled pumped storage dam in Korea.