Gyeongbuk Province Makes All-Out Effort to Attract 3 Trillion Won Pumped Storage Power Plants in Yeongyang and Bonghwa

Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to Select in Second Half of This Year

Lee Cheol-woo's 'Complex Tourism Site Development'

Gyeongbuk Province is making every effort to attract pumped-storage power plants with a total capacity of 1.5GW and a construction cost of 3 trillion KRW at two sites in Yeongyang and Bonghwa, following the inclusion of 1.75GW of new pumped-storage power plants in the 10th Basic Plan for Electricity Supply and Demand (2022?2036) announced by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy last January.

Yeongyang County is preparing to apply for the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s pumped-storage power plant attraction contest with Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power planning a 1GW, 2 trillion KRW project in the Ilwol-myeon area, while Bonghwa County is preparing an application with Korea Midland Power for a 0.5GW, 1 trillion KRW project in the Socheon-myeon area.

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office.

It is expected that the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy will announce the selection of new pumped-storage power plant operators in June, with the final selection likely to be made in the second half of this year.

Pumped-storage power plants consist of upper and lower dams and are called eco-friendly “electricity storage facilities” that pump water from the lower dam to the upper dam using surplus electricity during certain times and supply electricity when power supply is insufficient.

They are emerging as essential coexistence facilities that complement the shortcomings of nuclear power and renewable energy.

Earlier this year, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power conducted a preliminary survey of candidate sites nationwide and selected Yeongyang County as the final candidate site after evaluation by a private site selection committee.

Korea Midland Power also signed an MOU with Bonghwa County for the construction of a pumped-storage power plant and is preparing to apply for the new pumped-storage power plant contest.

If the Yeongyang and Bonghwa pumped-storage power plants are selected in this evaluation, Gyeongbuk will attract its third and fourth pumped-storage power plants in 12 years, following the existing two sites in Cheongsong and Yecheon.

With the attraction of these two pumped-storage power plants, Gyeongbuk will become the top region in the country, accounting for 30% of the nation’s pumped-storage power plants, and plans to lead the local era of Korea’s energy transition following nuclear power.

Gyeongbuk Province expects that the attraction of pumped-storage power plants will revitalize the local economy by increasing income, creating jobs, improving living environments, and developing tourism resources in the two regions.

It also anticipates solving various regional issues such as rural population decline, shortages of agricultural and drinking water, and securing water for wildfire suppression, thereby contributing to balanced regional development and laying the foundation for a new local era.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “Through the attraction of pumped-storage power plants, we will newly develop Gyeongbuk as a representative complex tourist destination linked with surrounding areas, and open a definite local era led by Gyeongbuk through fostering related industries. We will not spare any efforts in proposing to the central government and providing administrative and financial support to attract the Yeongyang and Bonghwa pumped-storage power plants, so that it becomes a model case that overcomes the crisis of local extinction nationwide and gives new hope to local communities.”

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