NEWS & ANALYSIS
HHI, KEPCO to develop coke-fired power plants globally
Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and state-controlled Korea Electric Power (Kepco) have announced plans to develop 20 petroleum coke-fired power plants around the world over the next five years.
Under the agreement, HHI, its oil refining affiliate Hyundai Oilbank and Kepco will jointly build power plants near coke-producing refineries, selling the generation back to the refineries.
The companies said yesterday that they expect to generate about 10 trillion South Korean won ($8.8bn) from the projects.
HHI, which has supplied circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) boilers for more than a dozen power stations in northeast Asia, will design and build boilers for the joint venture. Hyundai Oilbank will operate the boilers, as it has experience using this technology to produce power for its 520,000 b/d Daesan refinery, using coke produced by the facility's 36,500 b/d delayed coking unit.
Kepco, which operates 33 overseas power and resource projects in 19 countries, will lead the group's marketing effort and help manage development.
The companies did not name the countries or specific customers that they will target, but they are looking at potential areas across the world with refineries that have ample coke by-product.
The move comes as the South Korean government is pushing to reduce its use of fossil fuels and increase the share of renewables in its power generation. President Moon Jae-in, who assumed the role in May, pledged to shut the country's 10 oldest coal-fired power plants in the next five years as one of his key campaign promises.
But despite the recent push away from coal, the country's cement producers have been ramping up coke imports over the last couple of years. In the first five months of this year, South Korea received more than 700,000t of coke, up by more than 20pc from the same period in 2015, according to customs data.
The companies said yesterday that they expect to generate about 10 trillion South Korean won ($8.8bn) from the projects.
HHI, which has supplied circulating fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) boilers for more than a dozen power stations in northeast Asia, will design and build boilers for the joint venture. Hyundai Oilbank will operate the boilers, as it has experience using this technology to produce power for its 520,000 b/d Daesan refinery, using coke produced by the facility's 36,500 b/d delayed coking unit.
Kepco, which operates 33 overseas power and resource projects in 19 countries, will lead the group's marketing effort and help manage development.
The companies did not name the countries or specific customers that they will target, but they are looking at potential areas across the world with refineries that have ample coke by-product.
The move comes as the South Korean government is pushing to reduce its use of fossil fuels and increase the share of renewables in its power generation. President Moon Jae-in, who assumed the role in May, pledged to shut the country's 10 oldest coal-fired power plants in the next five years as one of his key campaign promises.
But despite the recent push away from coal, the country's cement producers have been ramping up coke imports over the last couple of years. In the first five months of this year, South Korea received more than 700,000t of coke, up by more than 20pc from the same period in 2015, according to customs data.
This analysis was published in Energy Argus Petroleum Coke.
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