Page 10 - AsiaElec Week 46 2021
P. 10
AsiaElec COAL AsiaElec
KEPCO, six subsidiaries
announce complete exit
from coal by 2050
SOUTH KOREA STATE-OWNED Korea Electric Power Corp. massive offshore wind farms is projected to go
(KEPCO) and its six power generation subsidi- down to KRW150 ($0.15) per kWh hour by
aries said this week they would pursue a gradual 2030, which is 40% cheaper than the current
but complete exit from coal by 2050. level.
KEPCO and the six subsidiaries – Korea Instead of coal, they also plan to burn green
Hydro & Nuclear Power, Korea South-East hydrogen. Hydrogen, though colourless, is given
Power, Korea Midland Power, Korea Western different colour labels depending on its feed-
Power, Korea Southern Power and Korea East- stock and production method. Green hydrogen
West Power – together emitted 269.6mn tonnes is produced by breaking down water into oxy-
of CO2 in 2018, accounting for 37% of South gen and hydrogen using electricity generated by
Korea’s total emissions. renewables such as wind and solar power. This
The seven companies’ carbon neutrality com- process is called electrolysis.
mitments will play a pivotal role in Korea’s plan The efficiency of green hydrogen stands at
to go carbon neutral by 2050. 65% at the moment, which is too low for com-
Dubbed the “Zero for Green” vision, the plan mercialisation. KEPCO and the six firms aim to
was announced during the opening ceremony of improve the efficiency level to over 80% by 2030.
2021 BIXPO at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Another fossil fuel they want to replace is
Centre in Gwangju, with KEPCO CEO Chung natural gas. KEPCO and the six firms plan to
Seung- Seung-il and other executives from the blend ammonia – which is a mix of nitrogen
firms in attendance. and hydrogen – with natural gas at the ratio of
Under the blueprint, the seven companies 2:8 and burn them together inside gas turbines
will commercialise carbon capture utilisation by 2027. Then they will advance the technology
and storage (CCUS) technology by 2030 and and mix pure hydrogen with natural gas at 1:1
apply it to coal power plants with over 500 MW by 2028.
of capacity, and to gas-fired plants with more To address the intermittency of renewa-
than 150 MW. ble energy and bolster grid stability, they will
The goal is to bring down the cost of CCUS advance a vehicle-to-grid technology where
technology to $30, which is 50% cheaper than electric vehicle (EV) drivers can sell their elec-
the current level. tricity during peak hours.
To make up for the electricity generated by Also, they will develop energy storage sys-
coal, they will develop large wind turbines and tems – a giant battery the size of a container to
install them on the southern coast of South store leftover electricity generated by renewables
Korea. – that can demonstrate efficiency greater than
The price of electricity produced from those 80% and have a lifespan longer than 30 years.
P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 46 17•November•2021
