World`s Largest Tidal Plant to Be Built in Shihwa Lake

The world`s largest tidal plant is expected to be built in Shihwa Lake.

The Korea Water Resources Corporation (KOWACO) said yesterday that it decided to build a tidal power plant with a capacity of 260,000kw that could generate 659 million kWh per year.

The proposed plant will use sea water coming into the Sihwa Lake to generate power.

KOWACO decided to place 13 pipes with a radius of 10m in the middle of the tide embankment and install power generators with a capacity of 20,000 kw in each pipe.

Six 12 meter-long floodgates will be additionally established in order to smooth water flow when the tide is on the ebb.

The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries initially planned to build a tidal plant with a capacity of 240,000 kw in July last year, and Ansan city also planned to construct a tidal plant with a capacity of 120,000kw by attracting foreign investment.

The proposed tidal plant is larger than those two previously planned tidal plants.

Currently the world`s largest tidal plant is Reims Tidal Plant in France, whose capacity is 240,000kw. If built, the proposed tidal plant will outsize the Reims Plant or the Soyang Dam with a capacity of 200,000kw.

Ko Seok-Gu, president of KOWACO said, "Shihwa lake is the optimal place to build a tidal plant since the range of tide in the West Sea amounts to 6.5m on average. We decided to expand the capacity in an attempt to make the plant a tourist attraction."

KOWACO will conduct an examination on whether it is a profitable business by November. Then it will embark on the construction in August next year after going through an evaluation of its influence on the environment, a basic drawing, and an execution drawing.

The construction of the proposed plant will be completed in the second half of 2008 with the total business expense of 270 billion won.

Its economical efficiency meaning the profit compared to cost invested was estimated at 1.28. If an estimated economical efficiency is bigger than one, it means that the project has a higher profitability.

Song Woo-Bok, a senior official at KOWACO said, "The construction of a tidal plant would have a variety of positive effects. We can not only generate power but also protect the environment with the development of clean energy, reduce cost for energy imports by securing unlimited circulatory energy and generate profits by making the plant a tourist attraction."

Jae-Seong Hwang jsonhng@donga.com