President Kim Jong-kap of Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO).

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) has succeeded in developing a salt field photovoltaic power generation system capable of producing both electricity and salt. KEPCO said on Sept. 2 the power company developed a 100kW-class salt field photovoltaic power generation system in cooperation with Green Energy Institute and SM Software.

The system employs a method of producing power salt and electricity at the same time by installing photovoltaic power modules on salt field beds which measure less than 5 cm in depth.

Photovoltaic power farms and salt fields have something in common. They both need abundant sunlight, no shade and a location in a windy place. About 85 percent of the nation’s salt fields are clustered in the Jeollanam-do areas.

Currently, photovoltaic power farms have been shooting up in salt field areas, since the former have been replaced by the latter at a fast pace.

Research teams, including KEPCO’s, have been operating a 6kW salt field photovoltaic power system prototype they installed in Muan, Jeollanam-do, in March 2018, and this time its capacity has been raised to 100kW.

KEPCO has designed a photovoltaic power module that can endure water pressure so it can be installed into the salt field. In particular, the capacity of the salt field photovoltaic power generation system has improved 5 percent compared to ordinary ground photovoltaic power farms thanks to salt water’s effect of cooling during summer.

Radiant heat being created from a photovoltaic power module can reduce the period of evaporating salt water, thus increasing salt production.

A KEPCO official said even though the upper part of the photovoltaic power generation system is always in contact with salt water, the salt field photovoltaic power generation system has no operation defects such as problems related to electricity safety and malfunction of the photovoltaic power module.

If the homegrown technology is applied to a salt field area covering 40 sq. km, it could secure a power generation site of a maximum capacity of 4GW.

The technology could be exported to countries such as China, India, France and Italy where sun dried salt production is employed like Korea. salt field photovoltaic power generation system is expected to contribute to expanding photovoltaic power farms in Korea as well as income of residents in the stark salt field area, the KEPCO official said.

It is also expected to evolve into a win-win Green New Deal project between KEPCO and Jeollanam-do, the official added.

A view of a photovoltaic power farm installed in a salt field.

A diagram on how to produce both electricity and salt with a salt field photovoltaic power generation system, developed by Korea Electric Power Corp. (Photos: KEPCO)

KEPCO Transfers Digital Substation Performance Verification Technology to Hydro-Québec

KEPCO exported its digital substation performance verification technology to Hydro-Québec, a Canadian power company.

Unlike conventional substations using copper electric lines to transmit electric signals among substation facilities, digital substations convert electric signals into digital signals for digitalization and automation.

KEPCO Research Institute has developed a “digital substation performance verification tool” designed to prevent communication problems among various equipment and systems of each substation in advance.

Hydro-Québec plans to make 500 substations smart by 2040. The Canadian power company’s expanding smart substations is expected to bring about 3 billion won in technology transfer profit to KEPCO.