[Air Quality UP, On Site] Jungbu Power Sejong Headquarters Responsible for Heating Heat in Administrative Capital

The Only Power Plant in Sejong City... Simultaneous Production of Electricity and Heat through Cogeneration
Energy Utilization Rate Raised to 83%... Heating Costs Reduced by 15% for 120,000 Households
Hydrogen Power Facilities Also Established... ESG Management Accelerated at Headquarters Level

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Junhyung] The Korea Midland Power Sejong Power Headquarters is located in Garam-dong, Sejong City. If you are a resident of Sejong City, you have probably seen this power plant at least once. It is situated near one of the few large supermarkets in the city. Smoke continuously rises from the chimney visible from the supermarket entrance road. Occasionally, complaints arise due to this smoke or for aesthetic reasons concerning the chimney. However, the Sejong Power Headquarters is the only power plant in the area responsible for supplying electricity and heating to the administrative capital, Sejong City.

Completed at the end of 2013, the Sejong Power Headquarters is equipped with power generation facilities including two gas turbines based on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and one steam turbine. Although smaller in scale compared to Korea Midland Power’s Boryeong Power Headquarters, it is sufficient to serve the approximately 370,000 residents of Sejong City. Since 2014, the Sejong Power Headquarters has supplied heating to about 120,000 households within Sejong City, including the Government Complex Sejong. The heating supply facility has a capacity of 391 Gcal/h, enough for up to 150,000 households. Considering that the maximum heat load of the Sejong Power Headquarters was 291 Gcal/h last year, only about 75% of the heating supply capacity has been utilized. Given the population growth trend in Sejong City, full capacity operation is expected around 2025.

Energy Utilization Rate 83%

The heating supplied by the Sejong Power Headquarters is about 15% cheaper than individual gas heating. This is thanks to the combined heat and power (CHP) method, which recycles waste heat generated during the process of burning fuel to drive turbines for district heating and other uses. This method produces electricity and heat simultaneously from a single fuel source, reducing energy production costs and improving generation efficiency. According to Korea Midland Power, the energy utilization rate of the Sejong Headquarters is about 83%, nearly twice that of a typical coal power plant (42%).

Even with waste heat recycling, cooling equipment is necessary. This explains the presence of a cooling tower of similar size to the building housing the core power generation facilities such as gas turbines and steam turbines. The cooling tower, operated by 10 cooling fans, uses water drawn from the Geum River as power plant water. To minimize environmental pollution, the heated water used to cool the power generation facilities undergoes purification processes at a treatment plant before being discharged. The quality of the discharged power plant water from the Sejong Power Headquarters is managed to standards higher than regulatory limits. The total organic carbon (TOC) concentration in the discharged water is 12 mg per liter, about half of the regulatory limit (22 mg per liter). The suspended solids (SS) concentration is 0.4 mg per liter, far below the regulatory limit of 30 mg per liter.

Heat Supply Trend of Korea Midland Power Sejong Power Headquarters.
[Photo by Korea Midland Power]

Accelerating ESG Management

Electricity generation at the Sejong Power Headquarters is not solely based on LNG. Inside the innermost part of the facility is a 5.28 MW hydrogen power generation system. This renewable energy facility consists of twelve 440 kW fuel cell units from Doosan Fuel Cell. Korea Midland Power invested 29 billion KRW in 2019 as part of its carbon neutrality efforts to install this system. Since starting operation in 2020 through June 7 of this year, the cumulative electricity generation and heat production have reached 88,845 MWh and 59,660 Gcal/h, respectively.

Korea Midland Power is also accelerating its ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) management through hydrogen fuel cells and other initiatives. The company declared last year as the inaugural year of ESG management and began strengthening related systems. A representative example is the organizational restructuring, including the formation of an ESG Management Promotion Committee led by President Kim Hobin. The company has also announced plans to invest approximately 800 billion KRW by 2026 to reduce air pollutant emissions to 18% of 2015 levels. The recycling rate of power plant water, which was 6% last year, is planned to be increased to over 70% by 2025.

Remaining challenges for the Sejong Power Headquarters also relate to ESG. Although LNG is classified as an eco-friendly energy source, it still has the limitation of being a fossil fuel. The fuel cell generation capacity accounts for less than one percent of the total generation capacity (530 MW) of the Sejong Power Headquarters. There is also a problem in that additional installation plans cannot be made due to site area limitations. The nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, which are air pollutants, stand at 6.8 ppm, about 27% of the regulatory limit (25 ppm), but environmental groups demand stricter standards. A Korea Midland Power official stated, "The investment cost for nitrogen oxide reduction facilities is considerable, and reducing emissions could lead to increased electricity rates. We are striving to maintain a balance between appropriate emission levels and generation costs."

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