[Air Quality UP, On Site] 'Korean-style No.1' Gas Turbine Arrives... Responsible for Heat Supply in Gimpo and Incheon

Seobu Power's Gimpo Cogeneration Plant
Doosan Heavy Industries Develops First Domestic Technology
Supplies Electricity to 500,000 and Heat to 80,000 Households
Average Energy Efficiency of 82%
Commercial Operation from July 2023

Construction site of Gimpo Combined Heat and Power Plant located in Hakun 2 General Industrial Complex, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi-do

The Gimpo Combined Heat and Power Plant located in Hakun 2 General Industrial Complex, Gimpo-si, Gyeonggi Province. During a recent visit, construction work was in full swing for the installation of Korea’s first domestically developed gas turbine. With a total project area of 100,081㎡, which is relatively small, a total of 20 facilities including gas turbines and steam turbines were densely arranged to maximize space efficiency.

The distinctive feature of the Gimpo Combined Heat and Power Plant is that it simultaneously produces electricity (495 MW) and heat (281 Gcal/h) using a domestically produced gas turbine developed by Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction with Korean technology for the first time in the country. Currently, all 161 gas turbines nationwide are imported products from overseas companies, and it is estimated that about 36 trillion KRW has been spent on purchasing and maintenance so far. If the power generation demonstration project starting in February next year succeeds, Korea will become the fifth country in the world, following the United States, Germany, and Japan, to possess power generation gas turbine technology.

The electricity and heat produced here are supplied to 500,000 and 80,000 households nearby, respectively. As the new towns in the Gimpo area gradually expand, it is expected to replace concerns about insufficient heat supply from the existing Seo Incheon Combined Cycle Power Plant. Currently, the Cheongna district in Incheon to the Hangang New Town area in Gimpo receive heat from the Seo Incheon Combined Cycle Power Plant, but once the Gimpo Combined Heat and Power Plant enters commercial operation, it will play a central role in meeting the demand of not only Gimpo New Town but also Geomdan New Town in Incheon. Combined heat and power plants are characterized by producing electricity and heat simultaneously to maximize energy efficiency. While the energy efficiency of general power generation averages 55%, combined heat and power generation achieves an average energy efficiency of about 82%, approximately 27 percentage points higher. In particular, the Gimpo Combined Heat and Power Plant is equipped with the latest eco-friendly facilities such as low-NOx burners and denitrification equipment to efficiently reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, a major air pollutant. Emission data from the power plant are transmitted to the Korea Environment Corporation and local governments for real-time management. Additionally, high-temperature gases above 90 degrees Celsius are released more than 300 meters above ground to minimize environmental pollution caused by atmospheric dispersion.

The expected completion date of the Gimpo Combined Heat and Power Plant is July 2023, with a comprehensive progress rate of 63.48% as of March this year. About 680 workers are currently employed at the construction site daily, and once power supply within the facility is established in July, the workforce will be expanded to a maximum of about 850 to accelerate construction. The core facilities of the power plant, the gas turbine building and steam turbine building, are positioned side by side, with cooling towers, wastewater treatment buildings, raw water tanks, and other facilities behind them to provide heating to the surrounding area. To prevent subsidence of the power plant and its facilities, approximately 5,800 steel pipe piles were driven 25 meters deep as civil engineering foundations to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 6.5.

Lee Chung-soon, Head of Construction Headquarters at Korea Western Power in Gimpo, is explaining the combined heat and power plant construction project.

The construction process of the Gimpo Combined Heat and Power Plant was not smooth. Before the groundbreaking, nearby residents strongly opposed the project due to concerns about environmental pollution. In response, Gimpo City and Korea Western Power took measures to secure local acceptance as part of regional coexistence plans. Specifically, Gimpo City provided agricultural machinery support in Daegot-myeon and carried out village road maintenance projects in Yangchon-eup, while Korea Western Power strengthened communication with local residents by offering scholarships of 1 million KRW annually to 100 children from vulnerable groups in the Gimpo area, among other efforts to resolve issues.

Securing a large-scale industrial water supply essential for power plant operation was also a critical issue. The initial plan was to receive industrial water through Incheon City’s tap water, but this faced high cost problems. To reduce power generation costs, inexpensive water was essential instead of tap water. Eventually, Korea Western Power, with cooperation from the Korea Water Resources Corporation, was able to receive raw water from Paldang Dam through a 22.7 km pipeline from Bupyeong Junction to the power plant. The estimated cost savings from this arrangement are about 50 billion KRW. Securing facilities for treating wastewater and sewage generated during power plant operation was another challenge. Instead of building wastewater treatment facilities within the power plant, Korea Western Power collaborated with public, private, and government enterprises to jointly use the Gimpo Yangchon 2 public wastewater facility in Gimpo Hakun 5 and 6 complexes, saving approximately 14 billion KRW in construction and operating costs.

Lee Choong-soon, head of the Gimpo Construction Headquarters at Korea Western Power, which oversees the power plant construction project, said, "We will build the world’s highest quality power plant and successfully lead the Korean-style natural gas combined cycle power generation demonstration project."