[AirUP, On Site] Caught Both Design and Eco-Friendliness... Model Answer for Future Power Plants

Nambu Power Generation Sinsejong Bitdream Headquarters... Scheduled for Completion in 2024
30% Hydrogen Co-firing from 2028... First Domestic Power Company
20% Carbon Reduction Compared to LNG... Annual Wastewater Reduced by 860,000 Tons
Aiming for 'Smart Power Plant'... Plans to Introduce Digital Twin

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] Recently visited the construction site of Korea Southern Power’s Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters in Yeongi-myeon, Sejong City. Located about 5 km from the Government Sejong Complex, the construction of the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters, scheduled for completion in 2024, was in full swing. The Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters, which has just begun to take shape structurally, was designed with an ‘urban-type design.’ Since the National Assembly Sejong Office Building site is about 3 km nearby and an apartment complex is also planned, the design philosophy of the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters is to harmonize naturally with the cityscape.

The construction of the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters was confirmed in the 9th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand announced at the end of 2020. As the role of Sejong City as the administrative capital grows and the population steadily increases, there was a growing need to expand regional development capacity. Currently, the Sejong Power Headquarters of Korea Midland Power, responsible for supplying electricity and heating in Sejong City, can handle the demand of about 150,000 households. However, with Sejong City’s population already reaching 370,000 and the National Assembly Sejong Office Building expected to open in 2028, bringing in an additional 20,000 to 30,000 people, the construction of a new power plant has become inevitable. Accordingly, Southern Power began environmental impact assessments and building permits for the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters in June last year and broke ground in September of the same year.

Hydrogen Co-firing from 2028

The Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters will be equipped with a 630MW power generation facility based on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and a heat supply facility with a capacity of 340 Gcal/h, with an investment of 680 billion KRW. It is similar in scale to the Sejong Power Headquarters, the only regional power plant in Sejong City. However, the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters is designed as a hydrogen co-firing power plant, meaning it can generate electricity by mixing hydrogen with the existing fuel, LNG.

To this end, Southern Power will introduce the country’s first large gas turbine capable of hydrogen co-firing at the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters. Kim Gu-hyun, head of the Shin Sejong Bitdream Construction Headquarters at Southern Power, said, “From 2028, we will be able to co-fire hydrogen at 30%,” adding, “The design allows for up to 50% hydrogen co-firing of the fuel.”

The expected benefits are significant. According to Southern Power, the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters can reduce carbon emissions by about 20% compared to existing LNG power plants. Compared to individual gas heating, it can reduce greenhouse gases by 2.71 million tons annually. The energy utilization rate is 83.5%, nearly twice that of conventional coal power plants (42%). Southern Power is also pursuing direct import of LNG to be used at the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters, which is expected to reduce fuel costs.

Employees of Korea Southern Power's Shin Sejong Bitdream Construction Headquarters are inspecting the safety management status at the construction site.
[Photo by Korea Southern Power]

Challenge of ‘Zero’ Harmful Substance Emissions

That is not all. Southern Power plans to install the country’s first Unburned Hydrocarbon (UHC) reduction device at the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters to drastically reduce harmful substance emissions. The plan is to lower nitrogen oxide emissions, a representative harmful substance emitted from power plants, to one-third of the legal regulatory limit. Additionally, the company will actively introduce environmental facilities such as the latest dust collection equipment and an artificial intelligence (AI) pollution management system to challenge ‘zero’ harmful substance emissions. By recycling power plant wastewater through reverse osmosis processes, wastewater can be reduced by 860,000 tons annually compared to existing power plants.

Site safety is another priority for Southern Power. In fact, the number of dedicated safety management personnel at the Shin Sejong Bitdream construction site increased from 15 to 19 last month. Southern Power plans to gradually increase safety management personnel to the mid-20s. An access gate is installed at the site entrance, allowing only personnel who have completed safety training to enter. The site control center can monitor the real-time location of workers throughout the construction site using a smartphone-based location system. Southern Power recently deployed drones to strengthen safety management for high-altitude work.

The ultimate goal of the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters is to become a ‘smart power plant.’ This involves applying digital twin technology to establish an operational system capable of remote monitoring and support of the power plant regardless of time and place. An intelligent predictive diagnostic system based on big data will also be applied. Lee Seung-woo, president of Southern Power, stated, “Starting with the Shin Sejong Bitdream Headquarters, we will lead clean energy innovation such as hydrogen co-firing power generation,” adding, “We will concentrate all our capabilities to realize energy transition and regional coexistence.”

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