Dongseo Power, Mid-term Review of Seasonal Fine Dust Management System... "Reduction of 169t of Ultrafine Dust through Coal-fired Power Reduction Operation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Korea East-West Power announced that it conducted a mid-term inspection of the winter reduction operation of coal-fired power plants that are undergoing shutdowns and output restrictions.

According to East-West Power on the 20th, under the government's seasonal fine dust management policy, since December 1 last year, two large-capacity coal-fired generators at Dangjin Power Plant have been shut down, and the operating output of 12 coal-fired generators at Dangjin, Honam, and Donghae Power Plants has been limited to a maximum of 80%.

This is the first time that domestic power companies have implemented shutdowns and output restrictions on coal power generation according to the seasonal management system.

East-West Power analyzed that during the one and a half months of coal power reduction operation from December 1 to 15 last year, ultra-fine dust emissions decreased by approximately 169 tons (32%) compared to the same period the previous year.

Of this, 56 tons were reduced from the two generators at Dangjin Power Plant that are currently shut down, and 113 tons were reduced from the 12 generators at Dangjin, Honam, and Donghae Power Plants under output restrictions.

Dangjin Power Plant in Chungcheongnam-do, where coal-fired power plants are concentrated, reduced emissions by about 30% compared to the previous year, and Honam Power Plant in the Yeosu Industrial Complex, Jeollanam-do, reduced emissions by about 49%.

East-West Power is using the generator shutdown period to invest 9.5 billion KRW in reinforcing 65 environmental and safety facilities.

They have completed 25 tasks including environmental facility reinforcements such as catalyst expansion for the denitrification facility at Dangjin Unit 6 and safety fence reinforcements for coal conveyor belts to ensure the safety of coal equipment workers. Forty tasks are either in progress or about to start. The catalyst expansion for the denitrification facility is expected to achieve an additional annual reduction of 14 tons of fine dust.

An East-West Power official stated, "By continuing the reduction operation of coal-fired power plants until next month, it is expected that more than 300 tons of fine dust and 3.86 million tons of greenhouse gases will be reduced during the seasonal management period." He added, "Going forward, we plan to introduce high-efficiency electrostatic precipitators and high-performance desulfurization facilities to all coal-fired power plant environmental equipment operated by East-West Power, improving performance to reduce fine dust emissions by about 70% compared to current levels."