Government to Begin Phase 1 Power Supply to Honam Semiconductor Cluster by June 2030

The government has begun formulating detailed measures to complete Phase 1 power supply to the Honam semiconductor industrial complex by June 2030. To increase public acceptance, the government is also considering partially undergrounding some of the transmission lines.

On July 16, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced that Minister Kim Seong-hwan visited both the planned transmission line segment for the Honam semiconductor industrial complex in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, Jeonnam, and the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Metropolitan City Hall to inspect the power supply plan and discuss measures for early construction.

This site visit comes about two weeks after the Minister's inspection of the Xinjiangseong substation construction site on June 30. The government is now refining the detailed plan with the aim of commencing Phase 1 power supply by June 2030, in line with the planned schedule for establishing the semiconductor industrial complex.

The Ministry and Korea Electric Power Corporation are pushing for a plan to supply electricity to the industrial complex by utilizing existing power grids such as the nearby 345kV (kilovolt) Xinjiangseong and Singwangju transmission lines. Since the planned route for the transmission lines includes both mountainous and flat terrain as well as residential areas, they discussed ways to enhance public acceptance, including expanding underground cabling primarily in areas with high population density.

Minister Kim first toured the planned route of the transmission lines with officials from Korea Electric Power Corporation to check the conditions for construction and review the power supply plan and early build-out. Afterwards, he presided over a working-level meeting on Honam region semiconductor industrial complex power supply, attended by Min Hyung-bae, Mayor of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Metropolitan City, and Kim Dong-cheol, President and CEO of Korea Electric Power Corporation, at the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Metropolitan City Hall.

Going forward, the government plans to swiftly finalize the optimal power supply plan through consultations with relevant companies, local governments, and other related ministries. Additionally, it aims to operate a collaborative system between Korea Electric Power Corporation and local governments to shorten licensing procedures and construction periods, with the goal of establishing power infrastructure at the earliest possible date.

Minister Kim stated, "The key prerequisite for establishing the Honam semiconductor industrial complex is the rapid expansion of power infrastructure," adding, "We will concentrate all administrative capacity to ensure the timely establishment of power supply infrastructure and minimize both licensing procedures and construction time."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.