South Korea has floated a plan to gradually retire 21 coal-fired power units ahead of schedule even though their design lifespans extend beyond 2040, while keeping up to 10 of them as "security reserve" capacity for power supply emergencies. The aim is to accelerate the coal phase-out while securing backup power until enough replacement generation is in place.
The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the steering committee for the 12th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand held a public forum on the 18th at Korea Electric Power Corp.'s South Seoul regional office under the theme "Plan for the Early Retirement of Coal Power by 2040."
Kim Jin-soo, a professor at Hanyang University who delivered the keynote presentation, laid out a three-stage roadmap: replace 27 of the 60 coal units now in operation with liquefied natural gas generation by 2036, replace 12 units slated for retirement in 2037 and 2038 with pumped-storage hydropower, and retire the remaining 21 units early.
The locations of the eight units that will be retired after 2031 and converted to LNG plants will be adjusted based on power demand and large-scale projects. Four LNG units replacing Hadong Units 5 and 6 and Taean Units 5 and 6 have already been assigned to the Yongin semiconductor cluster. Newly proposed is placing the replacement capacity for Yeongheung Units 1 and 2 in the greater Seoul area and that for Dangjin Units 5 and 6 in the Honam region, neither of which has been sited yet.
The 12 coal units retiring in 2037 and 2038 will be replaced with pumped-storage hydropower rather than LNG. The assessment is that the 13 pumped-storage projects currently planned or under way can cover the installed capacity of the retiring coal plants.
The biggest change concerns how to handle the 21 units whose design lifespans run past 2040. These plants, with a combined capacity of 19.1 gigawatts, will be retired early in stages between 2037 and 2039. Halting all of them at once in 2040 could concentrate strain on power supply and grid operations through a large drop in generation capacity, according to the assessment. Of these, up to 10 units may be retained as security reserve capacity based on factors such as plant performance and contribution to the grid.
Security reserve capacity refers to backup resources that stay out of the electricity market under normal conditions but keep their facilities preserved so they can be restarted in an emergency. They fall into two categories: a "standby reserve" type that maintains some fuel and staff in preparation for peak demand or drops in renewable output during bad weather, and a "strategic reserve" type kept in long-term preservation with minimal staff to guard against LNG supply disruptions or sharp increases in oil prices.
Yoo Seung-hoon, a professor at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, said countries abroad also maintain a "Plan B" such as reserve power to ensure supply stability, and that Korea likewise needs supply safeguards during its coal phase-out.
The forum also discussed ways to make use of plant sites and operators after closure. Under the proposals, coal plant sites could be converted to small modular reactors if local communities accept them, and operators that retire plants early could receive preferential treatment in bidding for new generation projects such as battery energy storage systems. Some privately owned coal plants could also be converted to LNG combined heat and power operations in light of local heat demand.
