POWER August 2021 - 24

TOP PLANT
Taean IGCC:
Continued
Operation,
Continued
Achievement
Courtesy: Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction
Korea Western Power's Taean Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle
(IGCC) Power Plant this year marked 4,000 hours of consecutive accidentfree
operations, setting a new world record for IGCC power plants.
Sonal Patel
S
outh Korea last year set out to
achieve carbon neutrality by
2050, vowing to end dependence
on coal and replace it with renewables.
Under the 9th Basic Plan for Electricity,
the country plans to close 20 coal
plants by 2034-in addition to 10 scheduled
for closure in its 8th plan-with
the aim of reducing coal's share in its
national power mix to 29.9% in 2030,
compared to 40.29% in 2019. A significant
facet of this plan are ambitions to
switch 24 state-owned coal-fired units,
a total 12.7 GW, to run on natural gas
by 2034. While a specific roadmap has
not yet emerged, the nation's power
plants will likely rely on domestically
developed technology.
Leading that charge is Doosan Heavy
Industries & Construction (DHIC), a regional
energy technology conglomerate
that has sought to establish itself at the
core of South Korea's strategy to become
only the fifth country to own an independent
gas turbine model. DHIC is also
working, as part of a consortium of other
South Korean firms, to build and demonstrate
the country's first large-scale
hydrogen gas turbine. DHIC, notably,
has spearheaded technology development
for several first-of-their-kind coal
technologies in use around the country,
including at the nation's first integrated
gasification combined cycle (IGCC) demonstration
project at Taean.
24
Demonstrating and Proving IGCC
Technology
As the company recalls, South Korea began
developing IGCC technology in 2006
as part of a renewable energy development
project coordinated by the Ministry
of Knowledge Economy. DHIC collaborated
in this effort along with the Korea
Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation
and Planning, and Korea Western Power
Co. (KOWEPO). By 2011, the company
had snagged a $453 million contract
with KOWEPO to build a 300-MW IGCC
demonstration project at the utility's existing
4-GW Taean power station in South
Chungcheong Province.
At the time, interest in IGCC was
growing, owing to its purported environmental
benefits for coal power, which
was slated to see a 400-GW expansion
by 2030. South Korea, which already produced
the bulk of its power from imported
coal, envisioned 15 coal gasification
plants producing 10 GW by 2020. Successful
demonstration of the technology
would open up new markets for coal, including
for exports.
" An IGCC power plant is a process
whereby a synthetic gas, consisting primarily
of hydrogen and carbon monoxide,
is extracted from coal and is used as the
fuel to generate electricity, " the company
explained in a 2011 press release. Along
with capturing emitted carbon dioxide,
the technology " minimizes the emission
www.powermag.com
1. The Taean integrated gasification combined
cycle (IGCC) project uses a Shell Coal
Gasification Process (SCGP). This image
shows the gasification unit under construction
in 2014. Courtesy: Korea Western Power Co.
(KOWEPO)
POWER | August 2021
of other pollutants, including sulfur oxide
and solid particulates, " it said. " If a coal
gasification technology that minimizes
the shortcomings of conventional coalfired
power plants, including the emission
of pollutants, is commercialized,
there is a high probability that coal could
replace crude oil and natural gas in the
foreseeable future. "
Groundbreaking on the pioneering
project took place in November 2011,
and following a remarkable 57-month
construction timeframe-comprising
610,000 man-days and 49,000 pieces
http://www.powermag.com
POWER August 2021

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