ABB & KEPCO: Stabilising The Grid In South Korea

ABB, the global manufacturer and leader in electrification and automation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) to supply the nation’s first high-inertia flywheel synchronous condenser. 

This condenser model, which has a fifty megavolt-ampere reactive power (Mvar) and close to 500 MWs will be installed near a high voltage direct current (HVDC) station in the North of Jeju Island, where a subsea cable connects the island to a mainline power grid. 

This operation will feature a high-inertia configuration that couples a large flywheel with the synchronous condenser.

The driving reason for KEPCO’s installation is the need to maintain the stability of Jeju Island’s grid during a push for broader renewable energy usage.

“The introduction of the ABB’s flywheel synchronous condenser system will greatly enhance the stability of the Jeju power grid,” says Eun-Bo Sim, President of KEPCO Research Institute. 

“KEPCO is committed to providing sustainable energy solutions.”

The green island of Jeju 

Jeju Island is aiming to reach net-zero emissions by 2035 through transitioning to clean hydrogen and renewable energy.

This is a bold and necessary step, one that is made more difficult by Jeju’s island status. 

Jeju Island is South Korea's largest island and a popular tourist destination, with over fifteen million visitors each year.

Located 240 km south of the main Korean peninsula, it’s home to around 670,000 people. 

As an island, it historically relied on fossil-fuel-powered turbines to provide the spinning inertia vital to maintaining a stable power network. 

As such turbines are being decommissioned, the inertia in the grid is decreasing. This makes it difficult to add more renewable resources without risking curtailment. 

Overall, the transition to renewable energy is a challenge surrounding stability, with islands struggling to maintain frequency within closely controlled limits. 

ABB’s synchronous condensers provide a proven solution to this, hence their adoption by KEPCO.

They offer an alternative source of spinning inertia by mimicking the operation of coal or gas generators, ensuring that network frequency is held stable to keep the grid reliable and additional superior voltage stability.

“With ABB’s proven technology and designs compliant with Korean standards, this flywheel synchronous condenser system will significantly improve frequency stability in the Jeju power grid,” says Kristina Carlquist, Head of Synchronous Condenser Product Line at ABB Large Motors and Generators Division.

“Through this project, ABB will set the standards for flywheel synchronous condenser systems in South Korea.

"We look forward to continuing our technological collaboration with KEPCO to further enhance the future stability of the Korean power grid as it transitions to green energy.”

ABB has deployed these condensers to reinforce Island grid power networks in projects worldwide, including on the Balearic, Faroes and Canary Islands. 

Now ABB in collaboration with KEPCO is helping Jeju Island achieve its 2035 net zero goals.

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