Austria’s Andritz to supply South Korean 500 MW pumped storage power plant

Austrian technology group Andritz has been selected by South Korean industrial company Doosan Enerbility to supply its turbine units for the Yeongdong pumped storage plant.

The 500 MW Yeongdong project, to be built in South Korea’s southwestern province of Chungcheong, is a collaboration between Doosan Enerbility and the country’s largest electric power company, Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP). It marks the first large-scale pumped storage project initiated by KHNP since 2011.

According to local press reports, a groundbreaking ceremony for the project took place last April. At the time, it was announced the plant would be built on a 1.18 million square meter site, with project costs in excess of KRW 503 billion ($343 million).

Andritz will be responsible for the design of two pump turbine units, motor-generators and related auxiliaries and supply of key components of the pump turbines and motor-generators, as well as it digital control system, turbine governors and protection systems. The company will also provide installation supervision and commission services.

The plant is scheduled for completion in 2030 and forms part of South Korea’s plan to add 5.7 GW of pumped storage capacity by 2037 in an effort to enhance grid stability and integrate increasing shares of renewable energy.

Alexander Schwab, Senior Vice President Market Management for Andritz Hydropower, called pumped storage the most proven, reliable and cost-effective energy storage technology. “Pumped storage is a key enabler for the energy transition that allows efficient energy management by balancing energy demand and supply, especially in an energy landscape increasingly dominated by intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar,” Schwab said.

To date, Andritz says it has delivered or rehabilitated around 40 units with a total installed capacity of over 1 GW in South Korea. The country held its second storage auction towards the end of last year, the results of which are expected in February.

The world’s largest pumped storage power plant in operation is the Fengning Pumped Storage Power Station, located in China’s Hebei province, featuring 12 reversible pump-turbine units, each with a capacity of 300 MW.