Kumho Completes South Korea's First Coal-to-Gas Power Plant in Gumi

Kumho Engineering & Construction (002990.KS) has completed construction of South Korea's first coal-to-gas power plant in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province. The 500-megawatt plant is a fuel-conversion project that replaces the No. 1 coal-fired unit at Taean with a natural gas combined-cycle plant under the government's carbon neutrality policy.

The project was ordered by Korea Western Power and built solely by Kumho Engineering & Construction. It is the first of its kind in South Korea, using high-efficiency combined-cycle method to generate electricity. Natural gas is burned to produce electricity in a gas turbine, while waste heat from that process produces steam to drive a steam turbine for additional output.

The completion ceremony was held at the site on the 16th, and the plant is scheduled for full operation by the end of this month. Once operational, Gumi's power self-sufficiency rate is expected to rise to about 30% from 6%. Kumho Engineering & Construction has built a track record in liquefied natural gas power generation and plant projects.