Alstom technology at the heart of a densely populated South Korean city

The ±500 kV HVDC link with 1.5 GW power capacity will transmit energy produced by the Dangjin power plant in the west of South Korea, to the densely populated Pyeongtaek area, east of Dangjin.

South Korea faces an ambitious challenge to meet the 25 per cent increase in electricity demand in the last decade alone.[1] As Korea continues to build a resilient transmission grid to bring the electricity needed to sustain the economy, HVDC will be increasingly used to supply power for populated areas.

“Alstom is proud to contribute to Korea’s growing power economy. This project is the fruit of the joint venture and co-development efforts between KEPCO and Alstom; it will increase Alstom’s HVDC presence in Asia, and KEPCO will benefit from Alstom’s industry-leading HVDC technologies and expertise from around the world,” said Patrick Plas, Senior Vice President Grid Power Electronics and Automation at Alstom.

In Korea, Alstom is a recognised, key player in HVDC technologies. The company provided the original 300 MW HVDC bipole link for the submarine interconnection linking South Korea’s Jeju Island across 101 kilometres to the mainland in the late 1990s. In 2009, Alstom was then awarded a second contract to supply the new converter stations for the 400 MW HVDC bipole scheme, completed in 2014.