South Korea’s ambitious plan to power a massive new semiconductor cluster in Yongin is facing serious doubts, with one expert warning it’s “absolutely impossible” and a “gamble that will drive the national power grid to total destruction.” Professor Jeon Young-hwan of Hongik University’s Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering raised the alarm about the feasibility of supplying 16 gigawatts of power to the complex.
Powering Progress or Pushing the Limit?
Table of Contents
Concerns mount over the viability of supplying enough electricity to a major new semiconductor hub.
- The government’s plan relies on substantial infrastructure upgrades, including HVDC transmission and new 345kV networks.
- Experts question whether the necessary transmission lines can realistically be built, citing resident opposition and logistical hurdles.
- The existing metropolitan area grid is already operating near capacity, raising fears of instability and potential blackouts.
- Alternative solutions, like dispersing semiconductor facilities, are being proposed as more sustainable options.
The government has laid out plans for an all-out effort to supply the 16GW needed for the Yongin semiconductor cluster, incorporating ultra-high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission and a 345kV transmission network along the east and west coasts. However, Professor Jeon argues that the plan is fundamentally flawed.
The Transmission Line Challenge
Professor Jeon, in an interview on January 16th, detailed the shortcomings of the Yongin Cluster power supply plan. A key issue is ‘transmission line utilization rate.’ The current network serving the metropolitan area maintains a normal utilization rate of around 25% to ensure reserve capacity for emergencies. To deliver 16GW to Yongin, Professor Jeon calculates a need for 60GW of facilities – five times the required capacity.
“It is calculated that 15 routes of 345kV transmission lines must be built,” Professor Jeon stated, adding, “The reality is that this is close to impossible in a situation where we cannot even dream of constructing transmission towers due to opposition from residents.” He pointed to the significant resistance encountered during the construction of a 765kV transmission tower in Miryang as evidence of the challenges ahead, questioning how 15 lines could ever be realistically built.
A Metropolitan Area on the Brink?
Professor Jeon warned that electricity consumption in the Korean metropolitan area is “abnormal,” with demand heavily concentrated in a small area, making the entire system vulnerable to collapse. He noted that peak-time electricity consumption (45GW) in the metropolitan area is equivalent to the entire United Kingdom’s consumption. Furthermore, energy consumption per unit area is four to five times higher than in the UK, making drawing this power from the region a “very risky gamble” in terms of stability.
What happens if the power grid becomes overloaded? Professor Jeon explained that this situation is more precarious than the one Sweden faced when a major blackout occurred due to voltage instability, despite having a functioning transmission grid. He expressed concern that excessive power concentration could trigger automatic grid shutdowns, leading to a widespread outage.
Korea’s electricity energy map as of July 2024. KEPCO energy map capture
A ‘Community of Destiny’ at Risk
Professor Jeon cautioned that the government’s promoted ‘three major supply chains’ – the East Coast and West Coast HVDC, and the Honam and Chungcheong region 345kV transmission lines – aren’t complementary but interconnected. He analyzes that if one line fails during a 16GW load, the lost power could surge to the remaining lines, causing a cascade of overloads and voltage collapses, potentially paralyzing the entire metropolitan area.
“The moment the tracks are automatically blocked, control becomes impossible,” Professor Jeon warned, adding that in the densely populated metropolitan area, this chain reaction could become an “irreversible disaster.”
Sweden, which experienced two large-scale power outages in the past, introduced a differential energy rate system. The further north you go, where there is more energy generation, the cheaper the rates. Provided by Swedish National Grid Corporation
HVDC and the Case for Decentralization
Professor Jeon also expressed skepticism about HVDC as a solution, stating it’s “10 times more expensive than general alternating current (AC) transmission.” He noted that economic feasibility typically requires long-distance transmission exceeding 400 km, while the metropolitan area on the East Coast is only 200 km, questioning the cost-effectiveness of the approach.
He emphasized that dispersing semiconductor factories to areas with existing electricity production is the most practical solution. In the metropolitan area, he explained, the transmission network needs to be quadruplicated due to utilization restrictions, while regional areas could reduce construction burdens by half. Locating factories near renewable energy and nuclear power plants, such as in Saemangeum, Honam, or Yeongnam, would simplify voltage stabilization.
“From an electrical engineering perspective, choosing ‘dispersion’ for stable power supply is the way to achieve balanced regional development,” Professor Jeon said, suggesting a redraw of the national industrial map instead of concentrating 16GW in one metropolitan area.
Overview of ultra-high voltage direct current transmission (HVDC). Yonhap News
Renewable Energy and Semiconductor Stability
Addressing concerns about the suitability of renewable energy for precision semiconductor manufacturing, Professor Jeon dismissed the idea that it’s “rat poison” for semiconductors as a misunderstanding of power systems. He refuted the claim, stating that the power grid’s frequency remains consistent nationwide, and voltage fluctuations from renewable sources can be controlled with stabilization technologies like synchronous generators and ESS (Energy Storage Systems).
He emphasized that building factories in areas with ample space and sufficient stabilization devices is the most reliable way to secure a stable, high-quality power supply, rather than attempting to do so in the already saturated metropolitan area.
