Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 10 2021

AsiaElec COAL-FIRED GENERATION AsiaElec

South Korea’s last coal power

plant faces green challenges

SOUTH KOREA SOUTH Korea’s Samcheok Blue Power Plant, As well as Doosan, strategic investors in Sam-
the country’s last coal-to-power project under cheok Blue Power include Posco Energy and
development, could hit financial trouble as green Posco Engineering & Construction.
activists call on the government to force the pro- Failing to address such risk means that the Pull quote to go
ject’s financiers to withdraw funding. lenders, some of which are state-run, are in
Civic group Solutions for Our Climate said breach of fiduciary duties to taxpayers, the activ- in here Pull quote
this week that South Korean banks such as the ists claim.
Korea Development Bank, the Industrial Bank “There is no pretext for the coal power pro- to go in here Pull
of Korea and the National Agricultural Cooper- ject to continue, either financial or environmen-
ative Federation should face a state audit of their tal-wise,” said Park Jee-hye, director of Solutions quote to go in
support for the KRW4.9 trillion ($3.8bn) project. for Our Climate. here Pull quote
A total of seven banks have so far committed The call comes as the BAI is still considering
KRW1.2 trillion ($1bn) to the project, and this whether funding the project is a good risk for the to go in here Pull
could now be in danger. state-run banks.
A coalition of South Korean activist groups The Samcheok Blue Power project is now less quote to go in
has called on the state-run Board of Audit and than half-complete, with construction brought
Inspection (BAI) to look into the financial insti- to a halt because of coastal erosion. here.
tutions’ “remedy of financial negligence.” At present, there are four coal power projects
The activists point out that the institutions’ under construction in South Korea, with two set
project financing for the Samcheok Blue con- to start operation in 2021 and one in 2023.
struction site hinged on the strategic partners’ The Samcheok project, the last of the four
credit rating. and widely believed to be the last coal power
But Doosan Heavy Industries & Construc- construction in South Korea, was scheduled to
tion, one of the strategic investors, saw its credit start its operation in 2024.
ratings from two ratings agencies fall in June to The South Korean government pledged in
BBB-, below investment-grade, owing to the October 2020 to aim for a net zero economy by
conglomerate’s overall indebtedness. 2050.
This means that that the seven institutions The country produced 28.1% of its electricity
lending to the Samcheok Blue plant now face using coal in 2020, according to data from the
increased risk. Energy Ministry.™

Week 10 10•March•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P9