DL E&C held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Yeongdong Pumped Storage Power Plant in Yeongdong-gun, North Chungcheong Province, on the 17th, the company announced on the 21st.
The Yeongdong Pumped Storage Power Plant, which will be developed in the area of Sangchon-myeon and Yanggang-myeon in Yeongdong-gun, will cover an area of 1.18 million square meters (approximately 360,000 pyeong), and its power capacity will be 500 megawatts. This amount of power can supply approximately 110,000 households.
DL E&C received the contract for the construction of the Yeongdong Pumped Storage Power Plant, with a total project cost of 503.4 billion won, in August last year. This is the first new pumped storage power project being pursued by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power in 13 years. The target completion date is 2030.
Pumped storage power generation is a type of hydropower that generates electricity by lifting water from a lower dam to an upper one when there is surplus electricity and releasing it to produce power when demand is high. The last pumped storage power plant built in the country was the Yecheon Pumped Storage Power Plant in 2011.
DL E&C boasts the highest number of construction achievements in the hydropower and dam sectors, including the Karun Dam in Iran, the Gulpur Hydropower Plant in Pakistan, and the Karian Dam in Indonesia. In particular, pumped storage power plants, which combine the characteristics of water and electricity, require high durability and stability. A complex task is included in the construction of a vertical tunnel, approximately 430 meters high, which is equivalent to about 143 stories of an apartment, to connect the upper and lower dams.
As renewable energy sources such as solar power and wind power gain increasing attention in the decarbonization field, the demand for pumped storage power plants with "electricity storage capabilities" is also rising. The process involves lifting water using electricity produced by solar power during the daytime and then operating the system in the evening when solar power generation decreases. In particular, with the advancement of artificial intelligence, the likelihood of exponentially increasing electricity demand is high, prompting the construction industry to consider it as the next generation of business opportunities.
The power authorities also noted that they would increase pumped storage power plants to a scale of 1.75 gigawatts in the 10th basic electricity supply and demand plan. Pumped storage power plants currently under construction or scheduled to be built are located in nine areas, including Hongcheon-gun in Gangwon Province and Gurye-gun in Jeollanam-do.
A DL E&C official said, "DL E&C is the construction company that completed the last pumped storage power plant in the country and is resuming after 13 years." The official added, "We aim to successfully carry out this project to contribute to strengthening energy security and revitalizing the local economy."