KOMIPO Model World’s First Underground Power Plant on London’s Tate Modern

The state-run power supplier Korea Midland Power Corporation will build a new thermal power generation plant in northern Seoul, which is to become the world’s first-ever urban underground power facility, officials said.

On Friday, KOMIPO and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction signed a contract for the latter to supply key parts for two new complex fuel generators to be built in the subterranean space of the Seoul Thermal Power Plant in Mapo.

The generators, worth 1.18 trillion won ($1 billion) and capable of producing 800 MW, will be the world’s first-ever fully underground power generating facility, according to officials. Doosan HIC is to provide for components such as gas turbines, steam turbines and heat recovery systems, worth 360 billion won in total. The superstructure of the underground facility will be used as an urban park area for residents, officials also said.

“Underground plant construction, though 1.5 times more expensive than conventional aboveground construction, is an effective use of the limited urban space,” said a KOMIPO official. The blueprint was modeled after Tate Modern, the famous power plant-turned-museum in London, he added.