The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment of South Korea and the steering committee for the 12th Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand have presented a plan to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2040.
Of the 60 currently operating coal-fired power plants, 39 would be replaced by alternative sources at the end of their 30-year design life: 27 power plants totalling 13.6 GW would be converted to LNG by 2036 and another 12 due to retirement in 2037 and 2038 and totalling 6.8 GW would be replaced with 13 pumped-storage hydropower projects currently planned or under way (+7.5 GW). The remaining 21 coal-fired power plants whose design lifespan runs after 2040 and which total 19.1 GW would be progressively retired between 2037 and 2039; up to 10 of these units may be retained as security reserve capacity for power supply emergencies.
Operators of retired coal-fired power plants could receive preferential treatment in bidding for new power generation projects such as battery energy storage systems (BESS), and could convert the site to accommodate small modular reactors (SMRs) if accepted by the local community.
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