Chungnam Addresses Coal Plant Closure Side Effects with 'Green New Deal'

[Asia Economy (Hongseong) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] Chungnam Province will begin the phased shutdown of coal-fired power plants, including the closure of Boryeong Thermal Power Plant Units 1 and 2 as of the 31st of this month. In conjunction with this, the province plans to mitigate the negative impacts of the power plant shutdowns on the overall industry and local economy by attracting Green New Deal projects.

On the 30th, the province announced that it will implement a comprehensive plan in response to the early closure of Boryeong Thermal Power Plant Units 1 and 2. The plan focuses on addressing concerns such as employment insecurity for workers, reduced tax revenue for Boryeong City, and fears of economic stagnation in the region caused by the plant closures.

First, the province will sign a business agreement with Korea Midland Power and others early next year to ensure that 326 workers formerly employed at Boryeong Thermal Power Plant can continue working by either operating decommissioned facilities or transferring to other power plants within the province.

Since the closure schedule of the coal-fired power plants has been moved up by two years, the province plans to compensate for the 1.7 billion KRW reduction in Boryeong City's tax revenue through a special account support project budget.

In particular, to alleviate concerns about economic downturns in coal phase-out regions such as Boryeong, the province will implement a strategy to transform the industrial structure of each region and actively attract national public projects.

For example, Boryeong will launch an eco-friendly automobile tuning industry ecosystem project next year. This project focuses on establishing research foundations and infrastructure for testing, evaluation, and certification in the process of converting internal combustion engine vehicles into electric vehicles (tuning). The project is scheduled to continue for five years until 2025, with an investment of 27 billion KRW.

Additionally, the province will push for the inclusion of a coal phase-out regional energy industry transition support project in the preliminary feasibility study plans of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy next year. This project, running from 2022 to 2025 with a budget of 100 billion KRW, aims to develop an LNG refrigerant logistics complex, establish a demonstration base for automotive battery reuse industrialization, and build a performance evaluation foundation for green remodeling.

Meanwhile, out of 60 coal-fired power plants nationwide, 30 are operating in Chungnam. The province plans to proactively suspend operations of Boryeong Thermal Power Plant Units 1 and 2 among these 30 units and intends to close a total of 14 coal-fired power plants by 2032.

Boryeong Thermal Power Plant Units 1 and 2 were completed in 1984 in Ocheon-myeon, Boryeong City, and have driven domestic industrialization and economic development for 35 years.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.