KOSPO Completes Hadong Thermal Power Project

Ceremony for the completion of the building of eight thermal power units held in Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province on July 2

Korea Southern Power Co. (KOSPO) held a ceremony to celebrate the completion of a 15-year project to build Hadong thermal power units 1 through 8 at the construction site in Geumseong-myeon, Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province on July 2.
The ceremony took place as KOSPO (President Nam Ho-ki) was capping the mammoth project by putting into commercial operation Hadong Thermal Power Unit 8, the last piece of the project in May 2009.
Those at hand for the ceremony included Kim Jeong-gwan, deputy minister of energy and resources at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE), Rep. Yeo Sang-kyu, South Gyeongsang Vice Gov. Ahn Sang-keun and some 300 other industry officials and residents.
The project, which broke ground in 1993, required 4.2 trillion won and 7.5 million man-days for the construction of eight units with a combined capacity of 4,000MW (500MWx8units). The first and second units were dedicated in 1997; the third and fourth in 1999; the fifth and sixth in 2001; and the seventh unit in December 2008.
The completion of the project is expected to greatly contribute to stabilizing the power grid of the southern region, particularly during the summer, the peak power demand season. In particular, the Hadong thermal power units, furnished with such high-tech, high-performance environmental facilities as desulfurization, denitrification and electric precipitation equipment, are seen as a new model of coal-fired power units, meeting more stringent environmental requirements in such natural environments as Hallyeo Sea Park, a clean coastal zone, the Seomjin River and Mt. Jiri.
It was noteworthy that the construction of Hadong Units 7&8 introduced the so-called Island turn-key method involving works ranging from design, equipment, materials and construction to start-up operation, the first of its kind in the construction of large-capacity coal-fired plants in Korea, and all equipment and materials were Korean-made. It was divided into three "islands" ― boiler, turbine and yard ― a move designed to raise KOSPO's competitive edge in winning overseas power projects, departing from the conventional split-up bidding method. As to the construction of Hadong Units 7&8, KEPCO took charge of providing technological services. While Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction, Samsung Engineering & Construction, Hanwha Engineering & Construction and Hanjin Heavy Industries each were responsible for design, provision of equipment and components, and construction.
KOSPO expects the project to accelerate its bid to raise its competitive edge through the operation of eco-friendly, high-tech power plants, KEPCO officials said. In this regard, KOSPO said the Samcheok Thermal Power Plant, scheduled to be completed by 2015, will be fitted with state-of-the-art carbon capture & storage (CCS) technology with a capacity of 300MW, the world? biggest one. To this end, Hadong Unit 3 has a 0.5MW-class research facility in operation. Starting in 2010, Hadong Unit 8 will have a research CCS facility with an expanded capacity of 10MW.
True to its management vision, KOPSO used eight electric cars to transport participants of the ceremony.
During the ceremony, 32 people, including Shim Ya-seop, chief of construction at KOSPO, decorated with the Order of Industrial Service Merit, Bronze Tower, were recognized for their contributions to the construction of Hadong Units 7&8. nw

(left) Dignitaries, including Kim Jeong-gwan, deputy minister of energy and resources at the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, and KOSPO President Nam Ho-ki, cut the tape in a ceremony to complete the Hadong Thermal Power Project on July 2. MKE Deputy Minister of Energy and Resources speaks during the ceremony.