Creation of an 'Eco-Friendly Pumped Storage Power Facility' in Geumsan, Chungnam

An ‘eco-friendly pumped-storage hydroelectric facility’ is expected to be established in Geumsan, Chungnam.

Kim Tae-heum, Governor of Chungnam Province, said at a press conference on the 2nd, “Recently, the Banguri area in Buri-myeon, Geumsan-gun was selected as one of the six preliminary feasibility study sites nationwide in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s ‘New Pumped-storage Hydroelectric Project Competition.’ We will focus administrative efforts on swiftly passing the preliminary feasibility study and advancing the project.”

Kim Tae-heum, Governor of Chungcheongnam-do, is holding a press conference at the Chungnam Provincial Office on the 2nd. Photo by Chungnam Province

Chungnam Province plans to construct a 500 MW pumped-storage hydroelectric facility on a 1,516㎡ site in Banguri, Buri-myeon, in cooperation with Korea South-East Power Co., Ltd., between 2035 and 2038, if Geumsan passes the feasibility study.

Pumped-storage hydroelectricity involves pumping water from a lower reservoir to an upper reservoir for storage, then releasing the stored water to generate electricity according to power demand.

The electricity needed to pump water to the upper reservoir is supplied by surplus power generated from solar and wind energy during the day and idle power at night, making it a power generation method that drives a carbon-neutral economy.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy highly evaluated the high resident acceptance in Banguri, Buri-myeon, Geumsan-gun, and the possibility of securing a stable water flow through the Geum River.

Additionally, considering that a transmission line passes through Muju to Geumsan, minimizing the potential for civil complaints or additional costs was also cited as an advantage.

The total project cost required to install the pumped-storage hydroelectric facility is estimated at 1.5469 trillion KRW. The main facilities to be installed include upper and lower dams, waterway tunnels, an underground power plant, and an outdoor substation.

Kim Tae-heum, Governor of Chungnam Province, said, “Once the pumped-storage power plant begins operation, it is expected to generate effects such as 49.3 billion KRW in support funds and 35 billion KRW in local tax revenue over the next 50 years, 500 billion KRW in tourism revenue, and 120 direct jobs. In particular, tourism resources linked to the Geum River can also be developed, resulting in an economic ripple effect estimated at about 1.8 trillion KRW.”

He added, “Chungnam Province will focus administrative efforts to establish itself as a special carbon-neutral economy province leading the national carbon-neutral economy through energy transition using pumped-storage hydroelectricity.”

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