DL E&C gets on the ‘renewable energy super-cycle’, winning an order for Yeongdong pumped storage power plant.
DATE 2024.08.21
VIEW 232
DL E&C gets on the 'renewable energy super-cycle',
winning an order for Yeongdong pumped storage power plant.
Bird’s eye view of Yeongdong Pumped Storage Power Plant.
Electricity is generated, dropping water from the upper dam (right) to the lower dam.
winning an order for Yeongdong pumped storage power plant.
Bird’s eye view of Yeongdong Pumped Storage Power Plant. Electricity is generated, dropping water from the upper dam (right) to the lower dam.
- A large-scale pumped storage power plant with a capacity of 500MW is constructed in Yeongdong, Chungcheongbuk-do after a 13-year hiatus.
- DL E&C broke through the competition for winning order, based on its highest performance in hydroelectric power generation and dam projects and successful experience in Yecheon pumped storage power plant.
- ‘Vertical Retention Device’ increased precision. Pumped storage power plants benefit from carbon neutral and the increased demand for AI
DL E&C announced on the 21st that it had won the contract for Yeongdong Pumped Storage Power Plant ordered by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co., Ltd. (“KHNP”) The last pumped storage power plant constructed in Korea was Yecheon pumped storage power plant in 2011. This is a new pumped storage power plant project after a 13-years hiatus.
Yeongdong Pumped Storage Power Plant will be constructed in Sangchon-myeon and Yanggang-myeon, Yeongdong-gun, Chungcheongbuk-do. Once it will be completed in the second half of 2030, it will generate 500MW of electricity, which is enough to power about 110,000 households annually. DL E&C will carry out civil engineering works worth KRW503.4 billion, including the upper and lower dams, underground power plant and waterway tunnels.
Pumped storage power generation is a method of generating electricity after pumping up water from a lower dam to an upper dam using electricity obtained from renewable energy generation or cheap electricity generated in the dead of night, and then storing the water, and dropping the water from the upper dam to the lower dam to generate electricity when demand for electricity increases. It has the merits, including high stability, long lifespan of 40 to 60 years and large energy storage capacity.
DL E&C has the most extensive track record on hydroelectric power generation and dam projects among domestic construction companies, such as ongoing construction work for multipurpose dam project worth USD139 million (about KRW190 billion) in Indonesia, and has been recognized for its knowhow. Previously, the Company has also successfully completed a number of large-scale projects, including Karun Dam in Iran and Gulpur Hydropower Plant in Pakistan. Pumped storage power plants, which combine the features of water and electricity, require higher durability and stability than other facilities, because accidents will lead to catastrophic disasters. In this context, the weighted technical score based on construction capability and project planning accounted for 80% of the total evaluation. Given that the project was ordered in a manner of ‘comprehensive review and total bidding system’, the score was the highest ever.
The Company’s experience in the previous construction of Yecheon Pumped Storage Power Plant has also played a crucial role in winning this contract. The Company won this order, largely thanks to the ‘One Team’ comprised of on-site workers and a dedicated bidding organization. They passed on their vivid construction knowhow and led the bid to success.
DL E&C’s innovative technology and efforts were also highly evaluated. The construction of Yeongdong Pumped Storage Power Plant is a challenging project that requires to construct a 430m-long vertical tunnel to connect the upper and lower dams, equivalent to the height of a 143-story apartment building. DL E&C plans to apply the ‘RBM (Raise Boring Machine)’ method, which drills a 0.3-meter hole in the bed rock to insert a vertical tunnel excavator equipped with a cutter (blade), and then rotates it to drill through the bedrock. This will shorten the construction period and ensure safety.
In order to drill a small hole straightly that acts as a guide line, vertical excavation technology must be secured. DL E&C employed an ‘Automatic Vertical Retention Device’, which keeps the machine upright while drilling, to implement such technology. This is a measure to prevent ‘eccentricity’ that the hole tiles to one side. DL E&C applied this method to the previously competed Yecheon Pumped Storage Power Plant to improve work precision.
As renewable energies, including solar and wind power, are gaining attention due to the global carbon neutrality, pumped storage power generation has also become increasingly important. Pumped storage power generation with ‘electricity storage capacity, is essentially required to overcome the intermittency of renewable energy source, which are unstable in supply, depending on day and night or weather condition. As the demand for semiconductors and data centers surges due to the spread of artificial intelligence (AI), the government is driving the construction of new pumped storage power plants with a capacity of 1.75GW pursuant to the 10th Basic Plan for Demand and Supply for Electricity”.
An official from DL E&C said, “Winning the project ordered by KNDP, which rigorously verifies technology, quality and stability, validates DL E&C’s technological capability and competitiveness. This success will accelerate our ‘pumped storage power generation’ business, which is considered to be our future growth engine.”
