South Korea is seeking to reduce the operation of coal power plants because of rising levels of pollution and convert them to gas-fired plants using imported LNG shipments, though is being cautious about the timetable because of the higher fuel costs.
The Korean Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry announced it would regulate the operation of coal-fired power plants to reduce emissions of fine dust from coal as the country has faced its worst levels of pollution since early March.
The Ministry explained that it would move to have 60 coal-fired power plants scale down their operations to 80 percent of their capacity, an increase in restrictions currently imposed at 40 plants.
“Due to the disaster-level density of fine dust over recent days, the inconvenience and damage suffered by the people are becoming unbearable,” said Vice Minister Cheong Seung-il during a visit to the Yeongheung coal-fired power station located west of the capital Seoul.
“Although state-run power firms have been making efforts to cut fine dust emissions by 25 percent over the past three years through investing in facilities, more must be done to meet the demands of the people,” stated Cheong.
Analysts point out that fine dust particles are more likely to penetrate deeper into the lungs, while ultra-fine particles can be absorbed directly into the blood stream, posing serious health risks.
One additional problem for Seoul and its residents is the heavy pollution also brought across the border by winds from North Korea, which is just 50 kilometres away.
South Korean LNG imports rose 17.3 percent in 2018 to a record 44 million tonnes as shipments increased from traditional Middle East supplier Qatar and from new projects in Australia and the US.
The country already has ample LNG import capacity to replace coal and access to global LNG volumes as the current biggest recipient of growing US exports.
Korea Gas Corp. is the dominant LNG importer, though other companies also receive shipments at two of the nation’s six import terminals.
South Korea’s previous annual record of LNG shipments was set in 2013 when it faced a series of nuclear reactor shutdowns due to a safety scandal over faulty parts, leading to an increase in gas-fired power generation.
Four of Korea’s import terminals at Incheon, Pyeong-Taek, Samcheok and Tong-Yeong are operated by state-controlled Kogas and have huge storage tank capacity.
The two other terminals are owned by a utility and an industrial company. The Boryyeong terminal is operated by GS Energy and the Kwangyang facility by the steelmaker POSCO, whose shipments are organized by trading unit POSCO Daewoo.
The Industry Ministry said it would also be examining a plan to persuade existing coal plants to be converted to gas-fired plants using regasified LNG as fuel.
The Ministry believes that while South Korea can maintain a stable supply of power through 2026, it will have no choice but to build more plants beyond that period.
In the coming months the Ministry added that it would also partially suspend the operation of 48 coal-fired power plants from at least a week to 45 days over the March-June period, and fully shut down six other plants over the period.
“The Ministry will moreover promote the use of low-sulfur coal at local stations in order to reduce the emission of sulfur oxide, which accounts for three quarters of fine dust created from coal plants,” said the statement.
Concerning six old coal plants in the country, the Ministry said it would review closing them down earlier than planned.
The government plans to permanently shut down the six plants at some point between December 2019 and May 2022.
Almost 77 percent of the nation’s electricity is generated by plants using coal, nuclear or regasified LNG.
According to the Ministry, coal-based power is anticipated to take up 28.6 percent, or 36,031 megawatts of the total power capacity of 126,096 MW, in 2019.
Nuclear power supplied 27.5 percent of the country’s power in 2018 followed by plants using regasified LNG at 20.8 percent. The balance was made up of oil and other sources.
Under the government's present policy and outlook, South Korea is expected to depend more on coal in the future, with the figure increasing to 42,041 MW in 2022.
